Better Teachers
by qwanderer
Summary: Tony and Loki are suddenly seven, and no one really knows what to do about it, especially themselves. Slash - Hulkeye (Bruce/Clint) and Frostiron (Tony/Loki), all chapters are written and will be posted through the weekend.
1. Day 1: Distrust

**Day 1: Distrust**

Giant lizards swarmed the streets, and Cap and Widow were fighting them. Hawkeye was on a balcony near the top of Avengers Tower, keeping track of things and shooting lizards. Meanwhile, on the landing pad of the tower, Iron Man and Loki were facing off. Except Tony had his faceplate up, and neither of them seemed to be actually trying to kill the other. Amora, also on the landing pad, stalked up to Loki.

"What in the Nine are you doing? We're supposed to be going after the tech! It was your plan!"

"You go and do that. I am distracting Iron Man. Believe me, this is much the better arrangement." Loki glared at her.

"But you never actually _told_ me what you are looking for! Come on, this is no time for flyting!" Amora glared right back.

"Hey, lady, I'm very protective of my stuff. So far this is just a fun little battle. I don't think you'd like it if I got _serious._"

At that, Steve's voice sounded in Tony's ear, distracted and annoyed. "Well then maybe you should get serious now! We're taking hits down here!"

"Cap, Cap, Cap. If Loki were seriously trying to take us down, there'd be more fire and screaming. This is just a little tantrum."

Loki smirked. "There's so much truth to that. This is all just a game to me. But it's getting a bit boring. I might add in some fire and screaming. The suggestion was quite appealing."

Tony opened his mouth, speechless for a bare moment. "Uh, wait, I changed my mind. You know what I really expect from a murderous Loki? Turning my cars into ice cream. Doesn't that sound fun, quirky and chaotic?"

Loki tapped his chin as he thought. "Well... how about both. Fire, screaming, cars melting into sugary puddles..."

Amora shrieked at him. "LOKI! It is time to get to work! You will not embarrass me in this fashion!"

Tony and Loki turned to her and said, in eerie unison, "Shut up, we're busy!"

Amora screeched even louder. "You are both CHILDREN! This is FUTILE!" She gathered a green ball of magic and sent it shooting at them both. Then she vanished in a huff.

The magic knocked both Tony and Loki to the ground, unconscious.

"We're just about through with these lizard things," Cap said over the comms. "Hawkeye, what's the situation up there?"

"I don't see Loki's high-strung partner in crime anywhere. Think she ran, and Loki's down for the moment... so I'm gonna go help Stark."

"What? What happened to him?"

"You know what, I'm just gonna go with 'freaky magic shit' until someone with a bigger brain can get eyes on him."

"I'm coming up to the landing level," Banner said. "Glad I decided not to exercise my alter ego today."

"All right, good," Rogers answered. "What's Loki's status, is he still out of the game? Unconscious?"

"Not exactly," Hawkeye said, feet touching down on the landing pad and approaching the two figures cautiously, but without trying to be sneaky. "But he got hit with the same spell as Tony."

Meanwhile, the two tiny figures had managed to work their way out of their respective mountains of armor. Loki huddled near his, scanning his surroundings composedly, and securing what he'd decided to retain of his clothing, a bright green undertunic that was now a robe, and a belt which he slipped over his shoulder to wear as a bandolier.

Tony was less involved in studying his wider surroundings, but was instead studying the armor, and chattering away with Jarvis.

"Thanks for helping me get out of there. I dunno what happened."

"I am here to see to your safety, Sir," Jarvis answered from the disassembled helmet.

"Are you actually here or are you on the phone, because Mom says I'm not supposed to answer the phone anymore, but I like it when people call because they talk to me."

"I am indeed present, here as much as anywhere. I am a computer, Sir."

Tony nearly dropped the helmet.

"Did my dad build you?" he whispered finally.

"No, Sir," the AI said carefully. "I was not built by Howard Stark, nor do I answer to him."

Tony looked skeptical and resigned, and gently lowered the helmet to the ground, studying his surroundings with more care this time. He stood and pushed the sleeves of the under-armor up past his elbows, where they didn't stay, but fell back down almost to his wrists. The shirt didn't quite come to his knees, but he figured there was nothing he could do about that. Curious eyes noted Clint approaching, but then locked on Loki, who was staring at him as well.

Loki frowned at Tony. "What realm is this?" he asked, regal and demanding.

"Dunno," Tony answered. "Just got here too."

So Loki looked up at Hawkeye. "What of you? Where am I? Where have I been brought, and who dares abduct a prince of Asgard?"

Clint suppressed a shudder at looking into those green eyes and retrieving knowledge to fill Loki's demands. He ended up nearly matching Loki's tone for coldness. "You're on Earth," he said curtly. "New York," for Tony's benefit. "We didn't bring you here, but you're under a spell, and I'm guessing it's keeping you from remembering how you got here."

He didn't know how a normal person would treat kids, but Clint knew he'd hated being lied to, especially when it was to spare his feelings. He'd had to be tough, and from the looks of these two, they wouldn't appreciate being coddled either.

Not that he'd be inclined to baby them; however young they might look, they were still annoying-as-hell Stark and the man who'd played with the contents of his skull and killed people, some of them friends.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd come inside," he said, beckoning, then turning and walking to the door. "Cap'd kill me if one of you fell off the side of the building, accident or not."

Loki followed without protest but with the air of someone who is waiting for an explanation, or perhaps an opportunity. Tony went back to the armor, contemplating the helmet. "You may bring the helmet if you wish," Jarvis said from inside it, "But even if you do not, you will be able to speak to me at any time."

Tony decided, hoisted the helmet (which now required both of his small arms to hold), and followed Clint and Loki inside.

There, Banner stood blinking at them, taking in their short statures. Then he put on a small smile, and crouched down to their level. "Tony?" he asked hesitantly. "Loki? How are you doing?"

Tony shrugged eloquently, still clutching the helmet. Loki frowned.

"I'm Bruce. I'm a doctor. I'd like to check you over and make sure you're okay."

Tony shuffled towards him, and Bruce waited, not wanting to move until the boy - six? Seven? - was in easy reach. "Doctor Banner can be trusted to keep you safe," Jarvis said, from both inside the helmet and a speaker near the ceiling. "He is a friend."

Tony eventually did make his way right up next to Bruce, and Bruce put a hand on his head, gently ruffling his hair. He ran his hands over the boy's limbs briefly, checking for obvious injuries, then took Tony's arms one at a time and rolled up the sleeves of the under armor shirt he wore.

"I guess you could use some different clothes," Bruce said conversationally. "I'll try to do something about that. Meanwhile, what's the last thing you remember before showing up out there in the armor?"

Tony screwed up his face, thinking. "I dunno. There was a party and I ate some tiny hotdogs." His eyes widened slightly, and Bruce could tell he was about to lie. "But I went to bed when the nanny said."

"All right," Bruce said, nodding. "Do you know what year it is?"

"Nineteen seventy five," he said in the most scathing tone his tiny voice could manage.

Jarvis spoke up then. "That would put his age at most likely seven," the AI said.

Tony frowned. "It is, isn't it? Did I get it wrong?"

Bruce ruffled Tony's hair again. "No, Tony, it's fine. That was a perfectly good answer."

Loki approached the two of them then, thrusting out a tiny fist in the direction of Bruce. The doctor didn't understand for a moment, and then he did, and he began rolling up the long sleeves of Loki's tunic as well.

"Hello, Loki," he said. "Are you feeling all right?" Loki didn't answer, and in the silence, Tony could be heard muttering to himself, or to Jarvis, it was hard to tell. He'd picked up the helmet again, and was turning it over, examining it. Bruce turned his attention back to Loki, who was now holding out his other arm.

"You mind if I give you a quick check, make sure you're okay?"

Loki considered him gravely, then gave him a regal nod. Bruce gave him the same cursory check, head, back and limbs, looking at his eyes to make sure they were tracking and focusing. He was smaller than Tony, close in height but significantly thinner, but there was very little information as context for that.

"All right," he said. "You seem fine. Do you need anything? Food, water?"

Loki looked at Bruce, warily and calculatingly, before venturing, "Fruit."

Bruce smiled at getting any sort of reaction, and stood up, walking to the kitchenette. "All right, I'll see what I can find," he said, opening the little fridge, and quite happy to see that it contained an orange as well as its usual variety of beverages. He brought the fruit to Loki, handing it over.

Loki frowned at it. "What is this, and how am I to eat it?"

"Oh, sorry," Bruce said, holding out his hand for the fruit's return. "I'll peel it for you. It's an orange."

Loki handed it back and Bruce began to peel it. "What kinds of fruit do you have on Asgard?"

Loki looked at the orange with a mock disdain that hid curiosity. "Proper ones. Apples. Pears. Grapes. Berries."

Bruce smiled. "I like all those," he said, "but I like oranges too. Can I have a piece?" Bruce was breaking the orange into sections now. Loki gave another of his small dignified nods of permission, so Bruce put a section into his mouth and chewed. He smiled again, and then held out the rest for Loki. He began eating, first dubious, then pleased.

Steve and Nat came out of the elevator then, and four pairs of eyes came to rest on Steve as he strode into the room. Tony was paralyzed in his spot by the sofa. Loki, on the other hand, strode right up to him, matching his posture.

"Are you in charge here?" he demanded.

"Yes, I am," Steve replied. "I'm Captain Rogers."

"I demand to be returned to Asgard," he said. "You are holding me here against the wishes of Odin Allfather, and you will feel his wrath if I am not returned."

Steve frowned worriedly. "I'm sorry," he said. "It wasn't our choice to have you here, and we don't have the power to return you to Asgard. We're going to try to get everything back to the way it's supposed to be, though. All right?" Steve gave him a somewhat strained smile.

Loki narrowed his eyes, suspicious. Then Tony spoke. "You're not Captain Rogers," he said, defiant and somewhat angry. "Captain Rogers is dead."

Steve pressed his lips together for a moment, trying to decide what to say. "A lot of people thought I was, but it turns out I wasn't." He shrugged.

Loki approached Tony then, cautiously but deliberately. "I do not trust that man," he said quietly to the other boy. "And you say that he is not who he says he is. I think that I had best follow your lead. You seem to know more of this world."

Tony followed the moves of the appraising dance that Loki was leading. "It's weird," he said. "But yeah, I'm figuring it out."

They locked eyes for a moment, and then Tony grabbed Loki's hand, and they scrabbled for the elevator, Tony hitting the door close just in time to stop Rogers and a strangely hesitant Black Widow.

"Jarvis, can you stop them? Open the doors?" Natasha asked.

"No, don't," Bruce said quickly. "Let them go. Just keep track of them, make sure they're okay and that they don't leave the building."

Steve looked at him, confused. "Are you sure that's the best thing to do?"

Bruce sighed. "I'm not sure what the best thing would be to help them," he said. "But what I do know is that chasing isn't going to do any good in making them trust us."

Steve's jaw tightened at that, knowing the stories and knowing that Bruce would know what he was talking about. "All right," he agreed. "I'm going to go report to SHIELD, see if they have any suggestions about how to get Tony back to normal. You... do whatever you think is best for him. Don't let Loki hurt him."

Bruce nodded. Steve left, taking the stairs down to the lobby.

Meanwhile, in the elevator, the two boys were arguing with Jarvis.

"I do not believe it would be advisable for you to attempt to leave the building," the AI was saying. "Neither of you are equipped to deal with the world you would find yourself in."

"I'd figure it out," Tony said with a certain amount of false bravado.

"Also, the ground floor is full of security personnel," the AI continued.

"Oh," Tony said, his voice going small.

Loki's expression turned stubborn. "If they will not let me leave this place, I will fight my way through them. They are only mortal, after all."

"I really would not recommend it," Jarvis replied. "The weapons of this world are far more advanced, I suspect, than the Midgard you know of, and they have some experience with fighting the Aesir."

Loki lifted his chin and looked defiantly at the speaker. "Why should I believe you, bodiless voice?" he asked.

"You have no reason," answered Jarvis, "but you have chosen to trust Tony, and I believe that I may be able to prove to him, if not my intentions, at least my superior knowledge."

Tony looked contemplative. "You really weren't built by my father, were you?"

"No, Sir," Jarvis replied.

"Who built you?" Tony asked in a near-whisper.

"You did, Sir," Jarvis answered.

"Are you Jarvis?" Tony asked, still quiet.

"Yes, Sir," said the AI.

Tony looked at the speaker with wide eyes.

"Who is this Jarvis?" Loki asked impatiently.

"My imaginary friend," Tony answered. "He knows everything and he's very smart but he isn't too busy, he always talks to me. Dad's always busy and sometimes he yells and Mom pretends to listen but she really doesn't. Jarvis is my favorite person in the world."

Loki narrowed his eyes. "But if Captain Rogers was not Captain Rogers, how do you know Jarvis is Jarvis?"

Tony's face scrunched up as he thought.

Jarvis cut in. "You like to write rude words under the solder on your circuit boards," he said.

"Jarvis!" Tony said, grinning with satisfaction.

"I can take you to an empty floor," the AI continued. "The others will come for you eventually, but they do mean well. I will warn you if they approach."

"Jarvis, is it the future?" Tony asked.

"Yes, Sir," Jarvis answered. "It is October of 2012."

They got off the elevator and onto a floor of empty offices, and stared about warily for a while.

"Is Captain America really alive? Did they clone him or something?"

"He is. The search for his crash site continued until he was found earlier this year. He was frozen, but the serum had kept him alive."

Tony frowned, narrowing his eyes. "I still don't like him."

"That is certainly your right," Jarvis replied.

They entered an office, with a desk and several seats and windows floor to ceiling that looked out over the city. It was far too open, and both boys were feeling the need to hide. Tony scooted under the couch that stood against one wall, and Loki curled up under the desk.

"Don't hide there," Tony hissed at him scornfully. "They always find you there. That's where they put their legs."

So Loki scrambled out from under the desk and slipped behind the other end of the sofa. Tony maneuvered around to peer up at him.

"Are you an alien?" he asked the green-eyed boy.

"Yes," Loki answered. "On Asgard I am a prince. My father is king of the whole world. I'm always very well guarded because I'm important and... I'm not actually very good at fighting, compared to the other Aesir." Loki had started to look miserable.

"But you're a kid," Tony said, eyes widening. "My dad's important too and he builds guns an' things but I'm not allowed to use them even though I know all the rules an' how they work an' I could probably build better ones. But Dad says I'm too young."

"Are these 'guns' weapons? Is your father a weapon smith on this world?"

"Yeah," Tony answered. "You don't know what guns are?" he said scornfully. "You really must be an alien."

"What are they, then?" Loki asked.

"They fire bits of metal very fast," Tony explained.

Loki nodded. "I can use a bow," the prince volunteered, "but I'm best with throwing knives." He pouted. "My brother always beats me at close range combat."

"Sirs," Jarvis interrupted quietly. "Agent Clint Barton is approaching."

The two boys went immediately silent, listening for footsteps. They didn't hear anything of the sort, but there was some scuffling up near the ceiling. Then there was a clattering noise as one of the vent covers was pulled away. After that, there was silence again.

Three minutes later, Tony got impatient and poked his head out from under the sofa, and saw Clint's face looking down at him from the vent.

"Um," he said, "I guess you found us."

"Yeah, but I'm not here to get you and bring you back," Clint answered.

"What are you doing, then?" Tony asked.

"Hiding," said Clint casually.

"Why?"

"Because I feel like it. Makes me feel safe."

Tony smiled knowingly and skeptically at him, but it wasn't unfriendly. "You're using psychology on me," he said.

"Maybe," Clint replied. "But it doesn't mean it's not true."

Loki poked his head out from under the couch, then. "My teachers say hiding isn't becoming to a warrior," he said disdainfully.

Tony snorted.

"Now that's just silly," Clint said. "Half my job is to stay hidden. I'm one of Earth's mightiest heroes. I stay quiet and watch and listen, and when the enemy least expects it, I strike."

Tony nodded knowingly. "You're a sniper?" he asked. Clint nodded. "Do you have a super cool futuristic rifle that always hits its mark?" he asked.

Clint grinned. "Actually I mostly use a bow," he said. "And hitting my mark every time? That's all me."

Loki wriggled his way out farther into the room. "I like bows," he told Clint.

Tony was still blinking up at the archer in shock. "Seriously? But it's the future. Talking computers and flying cars and you're using a BOW?! That's primitive stuff!"

Loki smacked Tony on the arm.

"OW!" the human boy yelled.

"Hey," said Clint. "No violence, or I will have to come down and stop you."

Loki looked shocked, then confused, then curled in on himself, retreating farther under the sofa and out of Clint's sight.

"You all right, Tony?" Clint asked the remaining boy.

"Yeah, it's fine," Tony said, rubbing at his shoulder. "Loki? It's okay. It doesn't hurt much."

Loki just continued to stare at Tony in confusion.

"Loki?" Tony wormed his way back under the sofa. "What's wrong?"

"I do not understand this place," the prince said.

"Yeah, well, it's all a little bit Star Trek, isn't it, but I guess it's gotta be weirder for the actual really truly alien. What's freaking you out?"

Loki frowned, obviously having trouble articulating what was bothering him. "On Asgard, that would have been taken as issue of a challenge," he said finally. "No one would have dared stop us. Not two boys of noble blood defending their honor."

Tony looked at Loki with a 'Really?' expression. "Well I really don't wanna fight you," the human boy said, "so I'm actually fine with Cupid up there coming down and pulling you off me if you do start something."

"Ha ha, right, you can call me Clint," interrupted the voice from above.

"Whatever you say, Cupid," Tony taunted, directing his voice up and out.

Loki blinked at Tony again. "You just insult people and they let you get away with it?"

"'Course they do. I'm a Stark."

"No fighting?"

"Nope."

Loki sank in on himself even farther, and to Tony's horror, tears began in his eyes.

"What's the matter _now?_" the human boy asked, hiding his concern with aggravation. Loki just shook his head and began to snuffle. Tony stared for another moment, then poked his head out from under the sofa again.

"Clint?" he asked.

"Yeah, Tony?" the archer replied readily.

"Um. I think we broke Loki."

Clint considered for a moment. "Would it be all right if I came down there?" the archer asked.

Tony examined his face closely. "Yeah, you're all right, I guess."

Clint nodded in reply and dropped gracefully out of the ceiling. He didn't get up from the crouch he landed in, but instead leaned over until he could see Loki. "Hey, kiddo," he said.

Loki blinked wetly back at him, curling even further inward.

"Hey, you can stay there as long as you want. I'm not here to haul you out." He turned to Tony. "So, Starkling, wanna see my bow?" he asked.

Tony's eyes showed a reluctant interest, so Clint got the collapsible recurve out of the case on his back and fixed the arms into place.

"It says Stark on it," Tony noted. "My dad make it?"

"Naw, you did," Clint said.

"Right, it's... twenty twelve, Jarvis said? I guess I'm all old and annoying."

Clint smiled and ruffled Tony's hair. "Kinda. Not too bad. I think I like little you better, though."

Tony smirked. "'Course you do. I'm the best." He ran his hand over the bow. "That's a sight, like on a gun, right? What do the buttons do?"

"They control the quiver, which attaches whatever arrowhead I need to the next arrow."

"You got ones that explode?"

"Of course I do. This is Stark tech, after all."

Tony snickered. "I guess old me is probably pretty awesome too. And your bow's not so bad."

Loki was now poking his head out from under the sofa again, watching the two humans sit crosslegged on the floor, holding the bow between them. "Do you know an older me?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I do," Clint answered, solemn and serious.

"What's he like?" Loki asked.

Clint took a deep breath before answering. "He's very confused and angry, and he's done things to me and my friends that I can't forgive him for. But after meeting you, I think I have a better idea of why he's like that."

Loki looked pretty miserable. "Do you hate me?" he asked Clint.

Clint considered him carefully before answering. "You know what? I don't think I do. I think you're not so bad. You just need some better teachers who can make sure you don't end up so confused. I had some bad teachers when I was a kid and I was pretty badly confused for a while there. But then someone found me who knew how to set me straight."

Loki chewed on the inside of his lip. "Could I meet them?" he asked.

Clint frowned. "I'm sorry, Loki. The older you killed him."

Loki's lip wobbled. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, and made to retreat back under the couch.

"Hey, no, it's okay," Clint said, his heart breaking for the kid. He put a hand over the dark sleek hair. "You wouldn't have done it if you knew what you know now. You've already learned important new things."

"But I don't want to kill him!" Loki wailed.

"Hey, I know, it's not fair. You didn't get a vote." Clint took a deep breath and let it out slowly, still petting the little Loki's head. "Let's make a deal, okay? Let's not blame ourselves for things the older Loki decided should happen."

Loki snuffled, then looked up at Clint. "You feel guilty about things I did? Older me?"

"Yeah, sometimes," answered Clint. "But neither of us had a choice, so we shouldn't let it bother us, okay?"

Loki nodded solemnly, and then they shook on it. Then Clint looked around to see what had happened to Tony.

Apparently he'd found a pen in the desk drawer and was using the metal clip on the cap to unscrew the screws on Clint's caliper release and completely disassemble the thing. "Tony," Clint groaned.

"What?" the kid answered. "There's wear on your shooting glove but this looks untouched. You never use it. And I'll put it back. I just wanted to see how it works."

"All right, all right," Clint sighed. "Just, next time, ask. Also, this whole building belongs to older you, so I'm sure there's something of yours somewhere for you to take apart. And tools."

Tony's eyes widened. "Really?" he said.

"Yeah, but you'd better check in with Bruce first," Clint answered. "He's your lab buddy, he'll have some idea what's important and what's OK for you to mess with."

Tony frowned. "Bruce? I thought he was a medical doctor."

"Yeah, well, Bruce is a lot of things," Clint said with a cryptic smile. "Oh, you know what else? He can cook. You guys hungry at all?"

Tony shrugged, putting the mechanical release back together. "I eat when my nanny says eat," he answered.

Clint laughed. "You know, older you could use one of those," he said.

"I am hungry," Loki said. "Bruce gave me a fruit, and it was good, but it wasn't very much."

"Okay," Clint said. "Would you two be all right with going up to Bruce's floor? It's got the best kitchen and all his spices and things, and we can make sure no one else is there, okay?"

Tony and Loki had a brief, wordless consultation, and Loki nodded, and then Tony nodded, and Clint threw his bow case back over his shoulder and they all started back towards the elevator.

"Jarvis, can you make sure Bruce knows what's up?" Clint said.

"Already done, Agent Barton," the AI responded.

Tony frowned slightly. "Jarvis, are you everybody's imaginary friend now?" he asked.

"You are always my primary concern," the AI answered, "but those that your adult self judges to be friends, so do I."

Tony raised his eyebrows at that. "We're friends?" he asked.

"Yeah," Clint answered. "We pretend not to be, but we are."

"Who else?" Tony asked as they got into the elevator.

Jarvis answered. "Miss Pepper Potts and James Rhodes, Doctor Bruce Banner, Barton's partner, Agent Natasha Romanoff, who you saw briefly earlier today, Captain Steve Rogers, and Prince Thor."

Loki's hand found and squeezed Clint's hand tightly. "You know Thor?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do," Clint answered. "He was mortal for a while, and I almost shot him, but then he learned some things, and now he's better at thinking first instead of just smashing everything, so yeah, he's a friend."

Loki giggled, and some of the pressure on Clint's hand let up, which was a relief to Clint.

Tony still looked up at him skeptically. "But really. Captain Steve Rogers? And me? Friends?"

Clint sniggered. "It did take a while for you two to see eye-to-eye. But yeah. He's not so bad when he's not worrying himself to death over something. He's worried about you."

Tony scoffed, but he didn't argue further.

They exited the elevator onto Bruce's floor, which was decorated in a soothing combination of blues, greens and browns. Bruce was in the kitchen just around the corner, humming to himself and putting a kettle on to boil. "Hey," he said as they all made their way in.

"Hey, Doc," Clint answered. Bruce raised his eyebrows at the way Loki was still clinging to Clint's hand. Clint gave a tiny shrug in response.

Tony sat down on one of the barstools, swinging his legs and crossing his arms on the counter. "So, Doctor Banner. Clint said we work together. Are you my lab assistant or what?"

Bruce chuckled a bit at that. "No, Tony. I've got my own lab space for my projects, we just end up collaborating a lot, even though our specialties shouldn't quite match up."

Tony nodded. "'Kay, so what are your specialties?"

"Well, my PhD is in nuclear physics, I've got a master's in cellular biology, I'm a licensed MD in some countries that aren't this one, and I've picked up enough mechanical and electrical engineering here and there to follow most of what you get up to. Can't really wrap my head around your most sophisticated computer programming projects, but other than that." Bruce smiled and opened his fridge. "Anything in particular you guys want to eat?"

Tony blinked, impressed despite himself.

"Do you have any game birds?" Loki asked into the momentary silence.

"I've got chicken, if that'll work for you," Bruce said, and as the other three nodded, he got out a package of chicken breasts and started to prepare them. "This might take a while. Clint, do you want to set them up with some drinks and snacks while I'm cooking?"

Clint smiled. "Sure thing. Lemme see. You like milk? Grape juice?"

Tony gave another one of his eloquent shrugs, and Loki said, "I usually have mead," so Clint decided to wing it, and filled one glass with lemonade and another with milk, then stirred some chocolate syrup into the second.

"Those are my two favorite drinks," he said, "so if neither of you likes them, I can always drink them." He plunked a straw into each, and told the boys in a stage whisper, "Bruce hates it when food gets wasted. He's kinda annoying about it." That got smiles from everyone, so Clint was pretty proud of himself.

Tony took the lemonade, which left Loki looking curiously at the chocolate milk. "Go ahead, try it," said Clint. "Or do you want me to taste it first?" Loki nodded, so Clint took a sip, then slid the glass back to Loki. The prince took a cautious sip, then smiled, and the glass started to drain at a decent rate.

"Well looks like I chose right," Clint said, eyes crinkling. He got himself another glass of lemonade, then explored the fridge a little more. "So, pre-dinner snacks. You like fruit, right?" He pointed at Loki, who nodded. "And you're going to shrug no matter what I say?" He pointed at Tony, who shrugged. "Right, grapes it is," Clint said, and retrieved a package of red grapes from the fridge, putting them into a bowl, and, mindful of Loki's eyes on him, ate a few.

The boys each took some, chewing thoughtfully. They looked curiously at each other again. Unsurprisingly, Tony was the first to speak. "So what's your planet like?" he asked.

Loki frowned. "I would have said it has the grandest of cities and the fiercest of warriors, but this place seems to have those too, only very differently. On Asgard everything is shining and golden. My father is king, and everyone loves him, and my mother and brother." Loki frowned again.

"Well that's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. There isn't anyone that everybody loves. Here, the more people know who you are, the more people love you _and_ the more people hate you." Tony had his contemptuous expression firmly in place.

"That is not how things are on Asgard," Loki said, sighing.

"Sounds like your dad has enough power that people are afraid to say they don't like him," Tony said.

"Then why do they all smile at my father and my mother and my brother? If it is fear of royal retribution, why don't they smile at ME?" Loki wailed.

Tony had no idea how to respond to that. He looked to Clint again. Clint rushed around the counter, and, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, caught Loki up in his arms and petted his hair, and held him as he cried. "Shhhh," he said. "It's all right."

"I miss them," Loki said through his sniffles. "But I don't want to go back."

"SShhh," Clint continued. "We'll figure it out."

Bruce was staring, disbelieving. Clint ignored him and continued to comfort Loki.

Tony was looking back and forth between the two adults, knowing something was going on but not what it was. He contemplated their expressions. Then he said, "Bruce?"

"Yeah, Tony?" Bruce came over closer to where Tony was sitting.

"What did older Loki do to Clint? I know he killed some people, but there's something else, isn't there."

Bruce sighed. "Yeah, there is," he said, "but it's not my story to tell." Then Bruce looked thoughtfully at Tony. "What happened down there that made them so close?"

"I dunno." Tony scowled. "Loki likes bows, I guess."

Bruce could tell that that was an evasion, but didn't call him on it. They sat and quietly watched Clint and Loki, until Bruce realized something. "You're allowed to want attention too," he said quietly to Tony, ruffling the boy's hair. The only response Bruce got was an expression that tried to be disdainful, but missed by a mile. Bruce left his hand there for a minute, then stayed close by while he continued making the salad.

"Oh, Clint said you could show me where there are tools and things I could use," Tony said to Bruce.

"Yeah," the doctor answered. "I know my way around your workshop pretty well. No one knows it like Jarvis, of course, but I'm always interested to see what you get up to in there."

Bruce watched sadly as Tony's eyes scanned his face for any trace of insincerity. "After dinner?" Bruce suggested, and when Tony saw that Bruce meant it, he grinned.

"Yeah, sounds good," the boy said, trying to be casual.

Bruce rubbed his messy brown hair again. "Salad's ready," he said then, just loud enough so that the other two would know it was a comment for them, too.

They all sat at the bar and ate salad, and then apricot chicken when that came out of the oven, and it was all strangely domestic.

"Is this how normal families eat dinner?" Tony asked.

Clint shrugged. "I wouldn't know. It's nice, though." He smiled at the others.

"Yeah, something like this, I think," said Bruce. "It reminds me of the time I lived with my cousin and her parents. They were pretty normal, I think." He nudged Tony affectionately. "Not what you're used to?"

"No, when there's not a big fancy party I eat by myself," he said. "Well, sometimes with my mom, but it's not like this." Then his eyes widened in realization. "My parents... they're dead by now, aren't they."

Bruce put a hand on the kid's shoulder. "Yes, Tony. I'm sorry."

Tony blinked back tears. "Makes sense. Dad would have been, uh, ninety-three? And Mom was sick a lot, so."

Bruce kept his hand on the boy's shoulder, rubbing gently with his thumb. Loki was staring at Tony with a kind of pitying shock. Then he turned to Clint, needing to make sure. "Are my..." but he couldn't continue.

"They're gods, kid, they're fine."

Loki nodded, then chewed at his lip as he looked at Tony.

Then Jarvis spoke into the silence. "Doctor Banner, Agent Barton. Pardon the interruption, but Captain Rogers has returned, in company with Prince Thor, and they wish to speak with you."

Bruce and Clint looked at the boys, and the boys looked at each other.

"That's your brother, right? I guess you want to see him," Tony said to Loki. Loki looked at Clint, then nodded. "Jarvis, are you sure Captain Rogers is really my friend?" Tony continued.

"Quite certain, Sir," Jarvis answered.

"All right," said Tony, nodding. "Let's go."

So they went, Jarvis updating them that Steve, Natasha and Thor had all gathered on the common level, and were waiting.

Steve and Natasha were rather shocked, given what they had known when they had last seen the boys, to see them as they came out of the elevator, Loki on Clint's hip with arms curled around the archer's neck, and Tony standing with Bruce, who had one hand on his head and one on his shoulder.

Once he wiped the shock off his face, Steve smiled. "I see you made friends," he said. Tony scowled at him in return.

Loki paid no attention to him, eyes locked on Thor. Thor, for his part, was transfixed, looking at the small boy with a wistful smile. Clint looked at his charge for a moment, gauging his reaction, and then started walking towards Thor.

"Are you really Thor?" Loki asked the towering man quietly.

"I am indeed, Loki. Heimdall told me that you were in the snare of a spell, and might need my assistance. Mother sends her love. She has missed you." Thor's smile widened somewhat, but he seemed hesitant to move, to break the spell of calm.

"Have I been away very long?" Loki asked.

"It is barely a year since you last stood on Asgard," said Thor, "but it has not been an easy year."

Loki nodded. "Clint told me that I did bad things. Killed people. Do you know why?"

Thor's eyes narrowed, landing on Clint, truly seeing their closeness for the first time. "I could wish you had not told him," the thunder god said, "but if this is the way you felt it best to take your revenge, I cannot stop you."

Clint shifted a little under Thor's gaze, but Loki held out a hand. "Thor. It's all right. Clint and I have a deal. Neither of us blames ourselves for things the older version of me decided should happen."

Thor turned back to Loki, gaze softening. "Good," he said. "You are only a child, for all you still seem to see more of the truth in things than I can, despite all the growing up I have done."

Clint caught Thor's attention again. "I didn't tell him for me," he said pointedly. "I told him for him. When I was a kid, I hated being lied to."

Thor nodded, looking incredibly sad. "I take your point," he said.

"What?" Loki asked him, suspicion in his bright green eyes. "You know something. What is wrong with me? Why am I different from everyone on Asgard? Why don't I grow up to be a hero?"

Thor sighed, long and deep. "Perhaps friend Clint is right. You have been lied to enough. I will tell you the thing you learned that broke you and sent you spiralling into madness, because perhaps if you had been told sooner, or in a better way, things may not have gone so wrong. But first you must promise me that you will remember two things."

Loki nodded, eyes wide. "What things?" he asked.

"That you are my brother, and always will be," Thor said, setting a hand on the boy's shoulder, "and that I love you and nothing can change that."

Loki unwrapped his arms from around Clint's neck and reached out towards Thor, who embraced him as only a god can, completely and sincerely and with no room for doubt. "I'm scared," Loki said into the crook of his neck.

Thor rubbed a huge hand across his back, and said quietly, "I am, as well."

Loki leaned back to look into Thor's face. "But you are Thor, Odin's firstborn, who laughs in the face of enemies. Nothing scares you."

Thor looked at his brother gravely. "Lies, all of it, and I swear to you, there will be no more. I will not lie to you again, Brother."

"But you are scared to tell me the truth."

"Yes, I am. But I will do it, nevertheless."

Clint was hesitant to let the kid alone with Thor, however much Thor was honestly trying to be a good brother and had been set on the right track. So the trio retreated, to a sofa on the far side of the room.

"What is it, Thor? It must be a terrible secret if _you_ are frightened to tell me of it."

Thor frowned. "I have grown accustomed to it. It does not change who you are. Only your choices do that, or so I believe."

"And still you will not say it. Why, what is it?" Loki took a breath, expression turning desperate. "Tell me!"

Clint sent Thor a glare for winding him up, that said, 'Get on with it!'

"You are not Aesir by birth," Thor told him at last. "Odin chose to foster you and raise you as his own, and care for you, though you were born to someone else."

"To who? What? A mortal? An elf?"

Thor took another breath. "A Jotunn."

Loki stiffened, then, a moment later, threw himself away from Thor, clinging to Clint. "You are not my brother! You are not Thor! You are some enemy, some impostor, and you lie vilely!" He buried his face in Clint's neck, breathing hard, refusing to lift his head to look at Thor's stricken face. After a moment he said, in the smallest of voices, "Is it true?"

Clint answered, "I don't know. I don't know and I don't care. I couldn't tell a dragon from a bilgesnipe and I wouldn't care if you were one. You're just a kid I met this afternoon who needed my help, and that's all I need to know."

Loki went absolutely limp, shuddering against Clint, who held him.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Bruce, Steve and Natasha had been sort of hovering around Tony.

"I, uh, got you some clothes," said Natasha awkwardly, handing Tony a bag and then stepping back.

Bruce could tell that Tony was overwhelmed by the attention being leveled at him, although he was already practiced in not showing it - it manifested pretty much the same way it did when he was an adult. So Bruce kept a hand on his shoulder, and studiously ignored him otherwise.

"Any word on what exactly happened, or how we put things back?" he asked Steve.

"Well, it's complicated, no surprise there," Cap answered. "SHIELD hasn't got anyone who specializes in Asgardian-style magic yet, which I thought was interesting phrasing. Thor says it's way over his head, and that he'd ask his mom to take a look at them, but she can't leave Asgard right now. We could go to her, but Thor isn't sure how well a human kid would tolerate traveling by Bifrost, and Loki... well, no one is really sure we want him back to his normal adult self, anyway, so... that doesn't leave us with a whole lot of options for what to do about Tony."

"I'm right here," the human boy said, stopping in his exploration of the bag of clothing to glare at Steve.

"Right, sorry, Tony," Cap said immediately. Bruce looked thougtful. Tony scowled.

"Fine, tell me where to go change and you can talk about me behind my back all you want."

Bruce squeezed Tony's arm reassuringly, but he didn't think denying it would go over particularly well, so he just pointed Tony in the direction of the bathroom, and he went.

"How are they doing?" Cap asked. "How much do they know?"

"Well, Jarvis and Clint have talked to them more, so I'm not sure exactly how much they've been told, but they're smart kids. They've figured out a lot themselves. And considering how confusing this all must be, I think they're doing pretty well."

"You've gotten them to trust us, though? We aren't going to have more running away problems, are we?"

Bruce sighed and looked in the direction Tony had left. "Steve, I don't think Tony trusts that easy, even - maybe especially - at the point in his life that he's at now. Nothing is off the table. But at the very least, I don't think Tony is going anywhere without Loki."

It was at that moment that Loki's anguished reaction to Thor's words rang out across the common room. Bruce pressed his lips together and frowned at the floor.

"Steve, this isn't going to get easy anytime soon. These two, as kids? Very intelligent, very wary, very much in need of careful handling. Don't worry, though, if they don't react the way you think they 'should.' They've got a lot to work through."

"You know a lot about kids?" Steve asked.

"I know a lot about the psychology of troubled people," Bruce answered, with a smile that was a self-deprecating twist. "I've had to learn."

Steve nodded, acknowledgement heavy in his eyes.

Tony came back, then, wearing the more or less appropriately sized jeans and black tee Natasha had brought for him. He took in the scene on the sofa. His little jaw tightened as he looked up at Bruce. "What happened to Loki?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Bruce answered. "Thor told him something."

"More about what his grownup self did?" Tony asked.

"Maybe."

Tony bit his lip. "Do you still want to build stuff with me in the workshop?"

"Sure," Bruce said. "Nothing better to do."

"Do you think Loki would want to come too?"

Bruce frowned, looking at the boy huddled in Clint's arms. "Well, we can always ask," he said finally.

They approached cautiously, and Loki watched them come, though he kept one eye on Thor and his cheek pressed against Clint's chest

Thor watched them come as well, sighing in resignation. He stood, saying, "I shall retire to my own chambers here. I hope that you will be willing to speak to me again, Brother, but I will not force my company upon you." He frowned sadly, suppressing several things he wanted to say or do. Instead he ended with, "Loki, brother, never doubt that I love you." Loki merely eyed him as he left the room.

"Hey, Loki," Tony said, inserting himself into the other boy's line of sight. "Look, I got real clothes, I think there's some for you, too. Anyway Bruce is going to show me the workshop here. You can come if you want," the human boy said with studied casualness.

Loki squeezed Clint's arm, looking up at him questioningly. "Yeah, of course I'll come," Clint answered. "You want me to help you with your clothes?"

Loki considered the clothes Tony was wearing, then nodded. Clint stood up, lifting Loki and saying, "You two can head up if you want, I know where Tony's workshop is."

Bruce looked at Tony, who shook his head. "We'll wait." Loki looked subtly grateful.

Clint headed over to where Natasha stood talking to Steve and holding a second bag of clothes. She gave him a concerned look so subtle, only he would have noticed it. He shook his head and held out his hand for the bag. Clint carried Loki into the bathroom, where he put him down, took out the clothes and explained briefly which ones went where.

"You want me to wait outside?" he said then, and Loki nodded, regaining a little of his regal poise.

Outside, Natasha came to stand beside him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Taking care of a kid who needs it."

"But that's _Loki._"

"I know," said Clint, rubbing at his face. "Believe me, I know. The eyes, the tone... yeah, I know Loki."

"You know he's still carrying some of his knives, right?"

"Of course, Nat, I'm not stupid. I see where his hands go when he gets nervous."

She shook her head. "I don't get it."

"Nat. You know how messed up I was before I got a second chance at turning out to be one of the good guys, and you know I like to pay it forward when I get the chance. He may be Loki, but he's not evil, and he doesn't want to be. I thought maybe I could help him out with that."

Natasha sighed. "All right. Just know I will be very angry if you let him stab you. He's stabbed enough of my friends."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm keeping an eye out. I know desperate kids." He looked at her thoughtfully. "Okay, I get why you're wary of Loki. Why were you so stiff around Tony? He's just Tony, but smaller."

"No, in fact, there are one or two crucial differences," she said uncomfortably.

"Okay, tell me," he said, looking at her with concern.

"I interact with people by playing off of their ideas about me, what they expect out of me and what they want from me."

"Right, okay, so?"

"So regular Tony wanted and expected me to be pretty and a competent professional. I worked with that. This kid doesn't have a company or a libido. I can't get a read on him. I don't know what he expects and I'm not sure he expects anything. And he's... surprisingly hesitant to communicate what he wants."

"Yeah, I noticed that too," Clint said. "Starting to think that adult Stark has just been making up for lost time in that area. And I think mostly what he wants is for people to pay attention to him, listen when he talks. He's just not used to that right now."

Natasha nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," she said.

Loki emerged from the bathroom then, in black cargo pants, a green and yellow raglan tee, and still wearing that belt across one shoulder, although the agents could tell by the way his gestures had changed that some of the knives had been moved to his pockets. Clint smiled helplessly at him, and thought to himself that you'd have to be some kind of fucked up to find that adorable. Loki returned the smile, subtly knowing and grateful, and took hold of Clint's hand.

"We're headed up to the workshop, I guess," Clint told Natasha. "See you later?"

She nodded, businesslike. "Be careful," she told him.

"Always am," he replied, which got a head-shake from her.

They returned to where Bruce and Tony had been waiting, talking to each other and Jarvis about what equipment was available. "Come on," Tony said, heading towards the elevator and beckoning eagerly. "Jarvis says I have, like, three machine shops."

When they came out of the elevator onto the main workshop level - which, like his Malibu workshop, had a glass wall between the floor lobby and the shop itself, so he could see people coming but still keep them out - Tony could only stare. The uncertainty was back in him.

Bruce went right to the door, and Jarvis opened it for him. He stepped inside, and then turned back to wait for Tony. "Come on, Tony," he said. It's your shop."

Tony took a couple of hesitant steps, taking in the half-finished projects, the robots, the two and a half suits of armor in various states of repair.

"No," he said. "It's older me's shop. And he isn't really me, is he?"

Bruce frowned, and Clint looked considering. "Well, you're a lot more similar than the two Lokis I know," Clint said. "I don't think he'd mind."

"But he's... grown up. And doing Stark Industries stuff. And... friends with _Steve Rogers._ He's probably like my dad."

Bruce gave a long, sad sigh, closing his eyes. Then he walked back out of the workshop, and crouched down so that he was on a level with Tony again. "Tony, I promise you that he's not. Not in the ways you're afraid of. The older you is a very good friend of mine, and I spend a lot of time in that shop. I'd really like to show some of it to you."

Tony considered Bruce's expression carefully before answering. Then he smiled. "Yeah, okay, impress me," he said, crossing his arms. Bruce returned the smile, warm and amused, before standing and leading the way into the workshop again.

This time Tony followed, and then Loki and Clint, trailing behind. "Hey Dummy!" Bruce called across the shop, and the big robotic arm rolled towards them. "This is Dummy," Bruce told Tony. "He's the first AI-controlled robot you ever built. When was that, Jarvis?"

"Sir was fourteen."

Tony and Dummy had reached out to each other, the small hand and the claw meeting in a clumsy, hesitant handshake.

"Dummy recognizes you," Jarvis continued. "He is quite confused by the fact that you are younger than he has ever seen you."

"I built you?" Tony asked the arm in awe. The now-free claw bobbed up and down in a clearly affirmative motion. "Hydraulic actuators, pressure sensors, cameras, mics..." his fingers brushed over the parts as he named them. "I don't know much programming yet but I can see how your hardware works." Tony smiled, and Dummy made a pleased humming sound.

"A voice but no words? Not like Jarvis."

"My vocal programming took considerably more time, as well as processing power that was unheard of at the time Dummy was constructed," Jarvis cut in. "I did not come online for several more years." Tony nodded, still examining Dummy, hands gently exploring his wiring.

"_Dummy_ is your lab assistant," Bruce said. "I'm just a little too smart for that to be an accurate title for me." Dummy made an annoyed but fond noise in Bruce's direction.

Loki wandered up, then, dragging Clint along with him. "You constructed these creatures?" he asked Tony with wonder.

"Seems like I will," Tony replied. He was now examining the welds closely. "I do good work," he said, smirking.

"It is impressive magic," Loki said.

Tony immediately straightened and looked at Loki. "Oh, none of this is magic. I might not be able to do all of this yet, but it's all tech. Machines, software. There isn't..." then Tony looked up at Bruce and Clint. "Is there magic?"

Bruce looked distinctly embarrassed. "Well, there are things that Thor, Loki and others from their world can do that we can't quite explain. They call it magic. That's actually how you got... where and when you are. An Asgardian sorceress cast a spell on you both."

Tony blinked up at Bruce, staring for a full minute, before he turned to Loki with the same wide eyes. "You can do magic?"

Loki frowned, stepping back a little, and holding tighter to Clint's hand. He was overwhelmed, and cowed in the face of Tony's intense expression of excitement.

Tony looked up at Bruce. "I really wanna know about magic, but I think I might break Loki again." Bruce laughed internally at the genuinely conflicted expression on Tony's face.

"I've got some data on some of the mystical artifacts we've been able to study," Bruce told Tony, "and some recordings of the casting we've been able to see. Let's go over to my desk and I can pull up the data for you, and you can get used to the holographic user interface that's built into this whole place."

"Ooh," Tony said, perking up at the mention of holograms. "Manipulable three-dimensional images? How does the input work?"

"It's a gesture-based system that uses visual input from several cameras - and input into the infrared - to determine the position of your hands in space. It eats processing power, but you've got that here in spades."

While Tony and Bruce headed to the desk, deep in conversation about the computer tech in the building, Clint picked up Loki again, and the boy folded into his arms without protest.

"Enough drama for one day, huh?" he asked. Loki just leaned in and clutched at Clint's shirt. "Yeah, okay. How about we just sit over here and watch them do their science thing from a distance. Always do like a little distance between me an' whatever needs my attention."

Loki smiled tiredly, so Clint carried him over to the sofa, and snugged the kid up against his side. Loki relaxed somewhat and maybe even started to drift into sleep now and again, but his hands still clutched tight at the belt where some of his knives were hidden. And then, as Clint felt himself settling into the soft seat and loosening up a bit, he noticed how his own hand drifted automatically to the leg he had propped up, crossed over the other knee, where he could reach the sheath in his boot easily.

Clint chuckled. Loki gave him a curious glance, and the archer said, "Kid, you and me have more in common than I'd ever have believed." Loki continued to look at him, so he tapped his boot where the blade beneath the leather would give a slightly metallic sound, then he rested his hand near it again.

Loki blinked, realizing what it meant, then gave a tiny smile and relaxed further into Clint's side, watching contentedly as Bruce and Tony chattered, gestured and laughed on the other side of the room. Then, Loki finally fell into a real sleep, and Clint held him, and thought about how much it meant that the kid trusted Clint to watch his back.

Tony had finally stopped playing with the user interface and file system - and Bruce was going to try very hard to save the whole internet thing for another day - and had gotten involved in the files on the Tesseract. Bruce was finding himself having to explain the basics of several disciplines, albeit in very broad strokes, many of which he had first explored himself because adult Tony had brought them into one of their mutual projects.

There was too much ground to cover and too many land mines Bruce was trying to stay clear of, and they finally, inevitably hit one when Tony asked if any of the Tesseract-based weapons were being made by Stark Industries. Bruce stopped dead, and of course Tony knew immediately that something was wrong.

"No, Stark Industries isn't pursuing that angle at the moment," Bruce said, though he knew it was too late to pass that off as anything but what it was - a subject Bruce was really not looking forward to explaining to Tony.

Tony was, as usual, curious, smart, and tenacious, and so he began, "What _is_ Stark Industries pursuing at the moment? Because there's all this work being done, lots of possibilities, and if I decided to focus on something else, that's gotta be something spectacular."

Bruce bit his lip, then decided to just answer the question straight. "You've got a bunch of consumer electronics on the market, cell phones and computers, things like that, research across the spectrum, things like genetic engineering, but the focus has been mostly on arc reactor tech and more efficient clean energy."

Tony blinked. "No weapons at all?"

"Only for close personal friends," Bruce answered. "Mostly you, Rhodey, Clint and Natasha."

Tony frowned. "Then all that armor, that's just for us? Not for the army or anyone?" Bruce nodded. "Why?"

Bruce sighed. "Tony... that's a very complicated question."

"Bullshit. I just asked you how magic works and you started explaining subatomic multidimensionality. You know I can take complicated." He looked back at Bruce imperiously, expectantly.

Bruce sighed again. "All right. A couple of years ago, you found out that Stark Industries weapons were being sold to our enemies under the table by one of your employees. You decided that selling weapons wasn't making anyone safer, so you stopped, and became a superhero instead. You've saved a lot of people, wearing that armor. Stopped some wars. Won a couple, too."

Tony thought, and then nodded. "See, not very complicated after all."

Bruce smiled, slightly unhappily. "Yeah, I suppose not. But I left out all the parts that I really hate thinking about. And when I get upset, I get really upset. So don't ask me to explain any more today."

Tony nodded, something in Bruce's tone letting him know that although Bruce might like him enough to patiently explain thirty-seven years' worth of forgotten science, he was not going to obey Tony's every command. Tony looked around the room, line of inquiry derailed, searching for the next thing to focus on. His eyes fell on Loki, sound asleep against Clint's side, and Clint dozing with his head flopped back across the back of the couch.

Bruce followed his line of sight, seeing the two, and then checked the time. "Wow, uh, it's probably time for you guys to go to bed."

"But I was going to build a thing, and figure out how magic works, and I'm not tired, and..."

"There's always something else to do that's interesting or important enough to stay up for. That's how you talk me into staying up all night doing science with you sometimes. But today it's not going to work, mostly because I think they'd be more comfortable in beds, but I think they'd prefer to stick close to us."

Tony took this in, frowning but nodding.

"And like I always tell you, the workshop will still be here in the morning." Bruce nudged Tony, who replied with a grudging smile. "Hm, I'm not sure how this is going to work. I know there are extra rooms all over the tower, but if we want to stick close... and then, it's usually better for everyone if I wake up in my own bed, but I only have the one guest room on my floor."

"I've never had a real sleepover," was Tony's reply. "Only seen them on TV. Me and Loki could share, like friends or something."

Bruce found himself pained by the uncertainty of Tony's voice, like he really had no idea of how the concept of 'friends' translated to practical application.

"That's an idea," Bruce replied. "Let's go find out what they think." He ruffled Tony's hair again, and then cautiously approached the two figures on the couch. Clint blinked and focused on Bruce as he got within a few feet of them.

"Hey, Clint. Hey, Loki," Bruce greeted them as the barest movement of Clint's hand on Loki's shoulder woke the kid immediately.

"Hey, Doc," Clint replied. "You guys done working?"

"For today," Bruce said. "Just trying to figure out where we're all going to sleep. I was thinking my floor - you know how much I hate waking up in strange places - but I've only got the two rooms."

Tony watched Loki for a moment, taking in his mood and half-awake state, before leaning in just slightly and saying, "Hey Lokes, wanna have a sleepover?"

Loki blinked again, then frowned slightly and mumbled, "What?"

"Sleep in the same room. Sometimes kids here who are friends do it. Like a party. But with sleeping."

"You are very strange," said Loki, curling further into Clint's side very subtly.

Clint stroked his hair softly. "Sounds like a good plan, if you're up for it," he told Loki. "I'd be right outside if you needed me." He lifted his face to look at Bruce. "That couch of yours looks pretty cozy," he said. "Nicer than this one, and I know big Tony falls asleep on this thing all the time. He probably doesn't buy couches unless they've been certified for comfortable napping or something."

Bruce chuckled. "Yeah, everything in this place is way too nice for the mentality I've cultivated, but it's hard to say no to Tony."

So they went about the business of preparing for sleep, going back through the common floor to retrieve the shopping bags, which each had another change of clothes, pajamas and toothbrushes. Natasha had gone to consult one of the experts in more local forms of magic, but Steve was still there, sketching in his book.

He looked up and smiled as they came in. "Everything going all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, just getting ready to bed down - looks like on my floor."

"All right, well, let me know if you need any help with anything," Steve offered earnestly. Then he pulled Bruce slightly aside to speak to him. "I don't know what the chances are of getting Tony back to normal. I'll keep coordinating with Thor and Natasha, see who else we can find that might have a solution. But I'm not feeling optimistic." Steve cringed a bit. "I'm sorry."

Bruce nodded somewhat grimly. "Whell, Tony and I plan on tackling the magic/tech divide again tomorrow. Maybe we can find something that will help, at the very least a way of tracking down the Enchantress and see if she can be convinced to reverse this."

Steve frowned slightly. "Are you sure that's wise, Bruce? He's seven years old. It's a tough problem and there's a lot riding on it. I don't want to put too much pressure on him."

Bruce sighed. "Steve. That kid may be seven, but he's Tony Stark. He's got his brain already, he's just missing some of the background information. And with a problem like this one, it might actually help to have someone working on it who isn't already in the habit of thinking certain ways about things." He shook his head slightly. "And if you think Tony Stark's life has ever had a moment without pressure, you don't know him as well as I thought you did."

Steve nodded. "I'll leave it up to you. You know him best. And I do know that his life has been complicated. I just... I really don't want to contribute to that. Any more than I already have."

Bruce breathed out slowly, closing his eyes. He clapped Steve on the shoulder reassuringly. "None of this was you. You weren't there, and you would have been, if given the choice. Just... give him the chance to get used to the fact that you're a person, not just a legend."

Steve nodded. "Well, ideally I don't want him to have time to get used to anything. But if this drags on for much longer... yeah. I'll try to do that."

Steve waved him back in the direction of the others, and he went, coming back into the conversation to hear Tony telling Loki about the proper use of a toothbrush. Clint smirked at Bruce over their heads. Bruce shook his head slightly, smiling, and began herding the group back in the direction of the elevator.

Back on Bruce's floor, Loki relaxed marginally, back in a space which he recognized and didn't associate with any of the traumatic events of the past few hours. There were no more incidents while they were preparing for sleep, as Tony kept his chatter firmly and intelligently on mundane topics, like the differences in plumbing systems between modern Earth and an Asgard of centuries ago, trying to keep Loki engaged but ending up involved in a rambling lecture on the float mechanism that controlled water level in the tank of most toilets. Loki was left blinking in exhausted confusion, but he really didn't seem to mind.

Bruce found himself, for the first time, immensely grateful that he had a guest room with a tremendously large bed. He had argued with Tony, saying there was no conceivable situation in which he would use it. Now it was proving to be a necessity for the two small boys that he'd somehow gotten attached to and who needed the security and tranquility that permeated his floor as much, perhaps even more than he did. Although he thought Tony would probably be less than thrilled that this was how he was proven right.

They all went into the guest room, Tony bouncing in on one side of the enormous bed and Loki slowly and deliberately wriggling his way under the covers on the other. Bruce wondered briefly if it would take some time for Tony to wind down, but he actually trailed off in the middle of a sentence while Bruce was still tucking him in, smoothing the blankets over his minuscule form. Bruce ruffled his hair slightly, and then stepped back from the bed, watching Clint and Loki negotiate their terms.

Loki was in pajamas now, no knives tucked about his person, but he still clung to the belt he had had on him since he was changed, not willing to part with it. Clint didn't comment on that, just smoothed Loki's hair and murmured reassurances until the boy began to relax again.

"I'll be on guard," he said, "and so will Jarvis, and Bruce is going to be right next door, and he may not look like it but the man can kick some serious ass if he's given a reason. So just yell if you need anything, and I'll be right here."

Once Loki began to drift, the two men backed out of the room, and Bruce whispered, "Jarvis, lights," and they wandered out into Bruce's living room and just kind of stared at each other.

"Well," said Bruce, "that was an interesting day."

Clint smiled tiredly and moved over to the aforementioned large soft sofa, collapsing into it. Bruce contemplated him for a moment, and then sank down beside him. Then he turned to the archer, and for a while neither of them said anything, just looked at each other, humor shining through the tiredness in their eyes. Finally Bruce took a long breath and broke the silence.

"Well, I should probably let you sleep. I'm pretty beat, and I wasn't the one going into battle earlier today, or crawling through the vents looking for them." Bruce gestured in the direction of his guest room.

"Nah, stay for a while, Doc," Clint said. "That stuff's what I do every day. What's slowing me down now is the whole 'realizing how similar I am to my mortal enemy' thing, and sitting here alone definitely isn't gonna help with that."

Bruce settled further into the couch with a relieved sigh.

"What about you?" Clint continued. "How are you holding up?"

Bruce opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again and shook his head. "I'll manage," he said, giving up on exploring the whole thing.

Clint looked at him with piercing eyes. "You know, Doc, it's not just me and Loki that I've been learning an uncomfortable amount about today. I'm also learning a lot about you super-genius types."

Bruce frowned questioningly at the archer, knowing he was up to something, but unable to tell what it was.

"You might not have a problem rattling off formulas and theories and all that tech jargon you keep in your heads, but you sure do have trouble asking for the things you want most."

Bruce's frown became even more confused, but then Clint's hand came up to nestle in the hair at the back of his neck and pull him closer, so Clint could kiss him on the cheek. Bruce was too tired to even process the illogicality of that, so he just let it happen.

"Jesus, there's a lot going on in there, isn't there," Clint said quietly, rubbing at Bruce's temple with the hand that wasn't on his neck.

"I feel like I'm dreaming," Bruce said at last. "So many of the things I don't let myself think about when I'm awake, just in really bizarre contexts."

Clint blew out a breath before asking, "You dream about me, huh?" in a joking tone that really wasn't very joking.

Bruce put a hand over his eyes, trying to focus and make sense of all that was happening. "I dream about a lot of things," he said.

He didn't continue, so Clint said, "Tell me."

Bruce shook his head. "I don't know what'll happen if I go there," he said. "There's too much. I don't want to risk it. Not with them here."

"Bruce." The tone finally got him to look at Clint. "You're not gonna hurt them. If it comes to it, Hulk's not gonna hurt them. He's a good guy. So are you. And I hope you know I wouldn't do anything to put them in danger. So trust me."

Bruce shook his head, but not like it was an answer to that. It was more of a lost motion. Clint stopped it by putting a hand on Bruce's cheek, drawing his eyes in again.

"Tell me what you want most."

Bruce pushed his hand away, but gently, not as if he hadn't wanted it there. He took a deep breath. "All right. Just let me... sort it out a little myself first." He moved Clint's other hand off of his neck with the same air of deliberation and apology, setting it down between them. Then Clint could see Bruce focus inward, studying, learning, gathering information from his own mind.

"When I was at Culver... those were the best years of my life. I was going to have everything I wanted. A chance to do science, make the world better, get respect. To have love, a home, a family. Kids."

Bruce let out another long breath, and let his head fall to rest on his knees. Clint watched him, waiting patiently, observing.

"Haven't thought about that for more than a moment since the accident. It's too dangerous, and Betty's with Len now..."

Bruce had turned his head to the side so Clint could hear him, and he looked so small and sad, and Clint wanted very much to touch him, comfort him, but he knew the moment for that hadn't come. So he just made encouraging noises, and Bruce continued.

"And then this happened, and I've treated kids before, of course, kids in all different situations, and I kept myself from getting attached because I knew I'd be leaving sooner or later. But this is different. This is Tony. This is the tower and I don't plan on leaving, and I can't anyway, not while Tony needs me and I just... Even if we solved this thing tomorrow, I'd still know. No matter what happens, from now on I'll know the answer to the question I've been trying very hard not to ask. Do I really want to be a parent, or is it just some residual artifact of the white-picket-fence fantasy?" Bruce closed his eyes and bit his lip. "I know now. I do."

After a moment of quiet, Clint huffed in response. "So, uh, wow, yeah. I knew there were deep things going on in there." He smiled at Bruce. "So what's so wrong with knowing what you want?"

Bruce groaned. "Because... because I function a certain way, and wanting things isn't part of that. Especially things I can't have, things that could put people in danger. I just deal with what I get, because I have to. I don't get to dwell on what I could have had."

Clint shook his head. "That is no way to live, Doc. That can't be healthy."

Bruce chuckled, and the sound had an edge to it. "More than a billion Buddhists would disagree with you," he said.

"Doesn't make me wrong," Clint insisted. "And then there's this. What if we never figure out how to change them back? What if Little Tony has to grow up all over again? What are you gonna do?"

Bruce pushed himself up with his arms, sitting up again and sighing. "Then I'll be here," he said. "It's Tony. I'll do what I have to to keep my cool. Even..." Bruce's face shaded with alarm. "God, can you even imagine a teenage Tony?"

Clint laughed. "Now that would have been something to see." Then he put a hand over Bruce's on the sofa cushion. "You really think it would be any different if you had a kid of your own? Or if you adopted one? You've known Tony for, what, three months? Four? I know you. You had a kid, any kid, you'd find a way to keep them safe."

Bruce looked at Clint sidelong, frowning. "That's not what I meant. There's a difference between protecting Tony from this mess he's gotten into, and _bringing_ a kid into this life." He shook his head. "And it's not just Hulk I'm worried about. Do you know how many times the Tower has been attacked since I moved in?"

Bruce turned to Clint as he said this, and was caught off guard at the archer's expression, which was more serious than Bruce had ever seen it. "So take kids who are already in danger and don't have anyone," Clint said. "Because they're out there, and the Tower is a hell of a lot better than the system."

Bruce stared at him for a moment, then sighed. "You're not helping. It's never going to happen, and I shouldn't be thinking about how much I want it, so don't talk me around to hoping it does."

Clint frowned at him, but the scientist looked so worn down. "All right, all right, I'll give it a rest. And anyway, we should both get some sleep before the brats need us again."

Bruce's hand swept down over his face, and he nodded. "You're not going to let this go for good, are you?" he grumbled.

Clint shrugged. "It depends."

Bruce sighed as he stood up. "Well, then, I'm going to escape while I can."

"You never answered my question," Clint protested as Bruce began to turn away.

"Which one?"

"Do you dream about me?"

Bruce smiled, small and tired but just a bit mischievous. "I guess we'll find out," he said.

So they parted for the night with a quiet laugh.


	2. Day 2: Relearning

**Day 2: Relearning**

Loki woke up first, with a start when he realized that he wasn't in the palace or in one of the tents used for the royal hunt. He was reaching for a blade when he saw Tony beside him, sprawled half over, half under the blankets but still wrapped tightly in sleep. Loki started breathing normally again, remembering this place and its strangeness. He slid noiselessly out of the bed, and went in search of Clint.

The human warrior was asleep on the sofa, but as soon as Loki got within ten feet, Clint jolted a little and turned, hand under his pillow. Loki smiled at him, letting him know that his vigilance was appreciated. Clint smiled back, eyes crinkling, and relaxed into a slow, thorough stretch.

"Whattya think, little prince? This world look any brighter this morning than it did yesterday?"

Loki considered, then nodded. He ventured closer to ask quietly, "Do you really not care if I'm Jotunn?"

Clint shook his head. "Nope. Couldn't care less where anyone's from or who their parents are or what they've done in the past. Only care what they mean to do in the future." Loki looked skeptical. "Hey, I should tell you the story of how I met Natasha." He sat up the rest of the way, and patted the cushion beside him, and Loki sat.

"The part of the world we're in now is called America. There's an even bigger chunk of land on the other side, going way up into the north where it's always cold, and it's called Russia. For a long time, we were kind of in a war with them, but neither country would outright attack. Instead we sent spies and assassins at each other. Russia had one particular spy that was very dangerous, called Black Widow. She'd been trained since she was younger than you how to kill, how to blend in, how to follow orders. Even after the war, there'd always be someone to find her and give her orders. She killed a lot of people, and made my bosses pretty upset. So they sent me to kill her."

Loki was watching with wide eyes, of course already realizing the identity of Black Widow.

"I found her, and I took my aim, and I looked. She was a sad sight, never really known anything but following orders, and never really given a choice about whose. I decided to give her one."

"But she was still human, like you?" Loki said, trying to smother his growing hope.

"Kid, never underestimate the human capacity to hate another human for being different from them. Russians, people here used to call 'em reds, hunt 'em down."

"And now she's your friend?"

"Very good friend. We watch each other's backs."

Loki smiled.

"Everyone should get a chance to learn what's up and decide for themselves what to use their skills for. Doesn't always happen, but it should."

Loki looked up at Clint with growing determination on his small face. "Then I choose. I wish to fight for you and the others here."

Clint blinked. "You don't have to. You're just a kid, and we've got plenty of human heroes around here."

"But none of you can help Tony. You need someone who can do magic."

Clint looked at him speculatively. Then he smiled. "Well hey, that's awesome if you want to help with the magic project. Even if we can't turn Tony back, he'll still have gotten to study real magic. Watch out when you tell 'im, though. He'll probably explode due to sudden happiness." Loki smiled at the joke.

Bruce woke up next, filled with a weird mixture of agitation and contentment. It wasn't until he heard quiet voices coming from his living room that he remembered why. The haze of warmth that came from waking up in a home, with a family, was quickly quashed by both the memory of why that was impossible, and worry over Tony. That didn't seem very productive, either, so he turned his attention to breakfast. He wandered out into the living area, where Clint and Loki both looked up from the couch where they were talking quietly to smile at him in greeting.

"Tony still asleep?" he asked, and Loki nodded. "Scrambled eggs and toast all right with you?" he asked.

"You got coffee, too, and it'd be perfect," Clint said.

Bruce shook his head with a frown. "Sorry, just tea. I've got some pretty high-caffeine blends, though."

Clint waved his hand. "Nah, whatever blend you want works. As long as it's hot and I can put cream in it."

Bruce smiled and picked out one of his own masala chai blends, heavy on the tea and cloves with nothing too sharp.

Tony came out of the room when the eggs were nearly done, looking extremely groggy and (Bruce tried not to attach too much to the thought) absolutely adorable.

"Morning, Tony," he said, smiling warmly. Tony scrunched up his face and mumbled inaudibly, shuffling towards the eating area. "Food's just about ready. You want tea, Tony?" Tony shrugged expressively once more, so Bruce fixed his chai with justa little more sugar than he liked himself, and set it in front of Tony. Tony drank it automatically, but Bruce thought he seemed to enjoy it once he woke up enough.

Bruce gave Clint and Loki their tea black, putting the cream and sugar between them so that Loki could watch and imitate if he wished. Clint sipped first from Loki's cup, then doctored his own with sugar and plenty of cream, then took a long satisfied sip. Loki watched, then tasted, then added cream and even more sugar than had gone into Tony's cup.

Breakfast was calm and pleasant and companionable overall, and Bruce tried not to think about the fact that that made it better than the majority of the moments that composed his life. Towards the end, Bruce, Tony and Jarvis resumed their discussion on the nature of Asgardian magic, and Tony tried very hard to hide the fact that his eyes kept drifting curiously to Loki. It became apparent that he'd failed when Loki caught him at it and said, "Tony, it's all right. I'll tell you about my magic today."

Tony bounced up and down on his barstool, whooping, before remembering that Loki got overwhelmed by things and managed to hold himself back to just the bouncing and some frenzied but quiet chattering with Jarvis.

Tony and Loki didn't seem inclined to eat any more after that, so Clint and Bruce finished up their own breakfast and the whole entourage went about getting dressed and heading back up to the workshop. Once they were there, the onslaught began.

"So you can do magic?" Tony asked Loki.

"A little. My father doesn't like me studying it."

"Why not, Thor has some magic powers, right? Bruce told me he could call lightning down out of the sky."

Loki frowned. "Then he must have been entrusted with Mjolnir. The Allfather has many such things in his vault. Objects of power are one thing, but this - " Loki pointed to himself and the other boy. "This was cast by a sorceress. I can tell. This is seidr. Witchcraft." Loki scowled. "I have heard many on Asgard call it a woman's art."

Bruce hummed and nodded in understanding. "In that case, thank you very much for being willing to talk to us about it." Then he got down to business. "How much is a little? Can you do many things with it? Do you understand how and why it works?"

Loki sighed, closing his eyes to try and focus. "I know that many seidr spells work to manipulate life energy. I've mostly done illusion but there are many other spells I know but have never been able to practice. Illusion draws on the caster's life energy. I've never cast a spell actually on someone else."

Tony's eyes sparkled with interest. "Can you cast illusions? Can I see?"

"All right," Loki agreed, putting away his doubt over the circumstances and beginning to focus on the energy.

"Jarvis, you ready to record?" Bruce said, just to confirm.

"Yes, Doctor. All possible sensors are online and recording now."

Loki held out his hand in front of him, focusing on the space above it. Piece by piece, as if it were both being constructed and brought into focus, the image of an apple appeared there, its skin slick, reflective, an almost glowing golden color. Everyone stared at it in silence for perhaps five seconds, and then it fell apart again, becoming thin air.

Tony, of course, as the first to speak. "Wow! What was that? Jarvis, what was that? What did you see?"

"Light and other electromagnetic frequencies, the source of which I cannot account for. The illusion appeared consistent from all angles once it was fully formed. Other frequencies occurred more strongly during the construction, and, to some extent, the disollution phase, and were focused in Loki's body, especially his arm."

Tony was already going over the displayed readings himself, but he nodded to Jarvis. "This is different than the Tesseract."

Bruce agreed. "There are some similarities, but the whole thing looks different enough that I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have figured out anything useful about Asgardian witchcraft just from studying the Tesseract data."

Tony nodded, grinning. "Thanks, Loki! That was awesome."

Loki looked taken aback, but pleased. He took a breath, considering what he could do next. "If you tell me more about how this spell was cast, I will know better what kind it is and what may work to counteract it."

"I got a pretty good view," Clint said. "I can fill you in."

Loki nodded, making himself comfortable on one of the benches. Clint sat next to him. "You - older you - and someone called Amora - the person who cast the thing - were attacking the tower. But you weren't really doing that much damage. I think Amora was the one who summoned the lizard things. You were really just standing on the landing platform trading insults with Tony."

"Flyting," Loki murmured with a smirk and a glance at Tony.

"Yeah, Amora called it that too. Anyway she got really annoyed that you weren't helping her fight, even though keeping Tony distracted probably was more important. Iron Man, when he gets serious, is not someone you want to mess with."

"My superhero name is Iron Man?" Tony cut in. "Sweet."

"Yeah, but you two just kept on teasing each other instead of fighting, so Amora got really fed up with both of you, called you children, and just kind of..." Clint imitated the arm motion that Amora had used to throw energy at them. "Poof! And you were both all little."

Loki nodded, looking very thoughtful. "Not planned, then. Driven by emotion."

"What's that mean?" Tony asked.

"It's probably not a complicated spell," Loki answered. "But it will be a strong one. If it had been cast purely in jest, it would have worn off by now. But if she was very angry, it may be permanent."

Bruce took that in, then let out a tremendous sigh. "What would it take to break it?" he asked.

"Simple reversion... I think. But the caster would have to want things to go back to how they were." Loki suddenly looked guilty and somewhat sick. "I couldn't do it. I like Tony now."

Clint pulled Loki into his lap, smoothing his hair again. "That's fine. That's good. I'm glad you like Tony, and I like who you are right now too." Clint frowned. "If someone did the reversion thing on one of you, would the other turn back too, do you think?"

Loki turned his head quickly to look up at Clint. "I don't know," he said in a small voice. "Clint, I don't want to turn back."

"I know, shh," Clint whispered. "I like you now. We'll figure it out."

They sat there for a while, Clint gently rocking and the babble from the science contingent becoming more and more indecipherable, until Loki relaxed somewhat. Not all the way, by a long shot. Clint thought that if he felt like that, he would be in serious need of some range time. Then he remembered just how much he and Loki seemed to share.

He didn't have any bows with a short enough draw for a seven-year-old - although, he reflected, thinking about Loki's hand gripping his when the kid was very scared, draw weight wouldn't have been a problem - but maybe he could think up a comparable distraction.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Clint told Loki. "I'm going to teach you how to play darts."

They were both very good, and very well-matched. Comparable arm strength, both with sharp eyes, and although Loki had less experience with the game, it was still more similar to throwing knives than it was to archery, so Loki could make use of his existing skills. Soon they were daring each other to make increasingly complex trick shots.

While that was happening at the far end of the workshop, Bruce and Tony were continuing to examine and correlate the readings, now trying to figure out what it was that Loki referred to as 'life force.'

"We must have it, or Asgardian witchcraft wouldn't work on us," Tony said. "Do you think that means I could learn to do magic?"

"I don't know," said Bruce. "Humans might have the life force itself, but lack the mechanism for controlling it. Although," said Bruce thoughtfully, "strong emotion triggering physical changes that include unexplained displacement of mass, does sound familiar. I may have managed to tap into mine, although I still don't have any kind of measurable control over it."

Tony frowned, then asked Jarvis what Bruce was talking about. Footage of the Hulk smashing Chitauri came up on one of the screens. "Doctor Banner's alter ego," Jarvis explained. "Otherwise known as the Hulk."

Bruce looked around to see what Tony's reaction would be, somewhat anxious. "Woah," Tony said, then looked up at Bruce, grinning. "That explains what you're doing living in superhero HQ."

"The Hulk is dangerous," Bruce said, frowning at Tony. "I try not to let him out unless it's absolutely necessary. You ever see him? Run. Don't expect him to stop, to recognize you just because I know you."

Tony nodded, eyes wide. Bruce had mixed feelings about the fear he'd caused. It was good. It could keep Tony safe. It was what he'd intended to do. But it looked wrong on Tony Stark's face, even the tiny seven-year-old version.

"But I only change if I'm very angry or in a lot of pain, so you probably won't see him."

Tony nodded. "I can work with that," he said, and smiled before delving into the files on the Hulk, seeing if they could give any insight into reverting one's life force to itsoriginal state. Then he got caught up in all the medical projects that were on the servers.

"Wow, grownup me makes a lot of cyborg parts."

"Yeah, there are a lot of advaced prosthetics we've been working on. They're really helping a lot of people. It's good work."

"Guess that's one reason it's good to have an MD in the workshop. You do the part with the squishy bits?"

"Actually you've gotten a really good grasp on musculoskeletal and cardiovascular medicine, as well as anti-rejection measures. I just go over the stuff for you, contribute here and there."

Tony frowned, continuing to look through the folders curiously. "What's this?" he asked, pointing to a file marked, 'arc reactor insertion site model.' "Why is there a stupid arc reactor in the biomedical folder."

"Uh, you may not want to look at that," Bruce said hesitantly.

"Why? You let me look at all the missing limbs and stuff," Tony said, then trailed off as the file opened to reveal a 3D model of a torso with a large block of electronics embedded in its chest. Tony looked at it, alarmed. "Weird," he said. Then he looked at the file summary pop-up off to the side. "Wh - Wait. That's me?"

Bruce groaned. "Jarvis... you couldn't have blocked off these files or something?"

"I do not feel the need to explain myself to you at the moment, Doctor Banner."

Bruce heard the silent promise of 'later,' and decided he would hold the AI to that. Now, he put a hand on Tony's shoulder and surveyed the file along with the boy. "Yes, that's older you," he said. "You got a serious injury under less than ideal conditions and you had to improvise."

"Am I, like... dying?"

"No," Bruce was quick to assure him. "The original model had a palladium core, which was causing some side effects, but this model? Very safe. It does its job, keeps your heart from getting damaged." He put his arms around the boy. "There are a lot of reasons I'm tempted not to do anything to change you back. Mostly there are a lot of bad things that have happened in your life that I don't want you to have to remember. But I would _never,_ not ever, change you back just for you to die."

Tony leaned into Bruce's chest, then. He surveyed the glowing lines of the device. "Does it hurt?" he asked quietly.

"You'd never admit it," Bruce said, "but I think it does, sometimes."

Tony sighed. "But grownup me does lots of important stuff I guess. Saves people and makes them new arms an' stuff. Guess you need him."

"That's not what I'm worried about. I think grown-up Tony has a lot of hard things about his life, but he'd still want to get it back. But, Tony, if we never find a way to change you back? I won't mind at all having you around instead."

Tony relaxed into Bruce's chest, but what he said when he spoke was, "It's all right if he's more important. Mom was always telling me how important Dad's work was and that we shouldn't interrupt him."

Bruce sighed, and held the boy close. "It seems like it hurts pretty much to be you, too," he said. He reached out and closed the file with a gesture, then put a hand on Tony's head. "The work is fun, but it's not what's important to me. What's important to me is you, and you are yourself, no matter what."

Tony sighed. "I wanna stay here," he said. "It's nice here. You're nice."

Bruce hugged him tighter. He didn't know quite what to say in answer, but fortunately, Jarvis interrupted then, saying, "Sirs, Captain Rogers would like to know if you would care to join him on the common floor for lunch and a movie."

Tony looked up at Bruce, and Bruce smiled back. "Maybe that's enough work for now, huh? I could watch a movie."

"Yeah." Tony grinned and bounded off in the direction of Clint and Loki. Bruce followed more slowly.

The dartboard they had been using now contained a cluster of darts in the very center, and had a couple of other very intentional clusters of pinpricks, but was otherwise untouched. Bruce chuckled. "Wow. Did either of you miss? At all?"

"Nope," Clint said. "Not once." He ruffled Loki's hair. "Thinking of training him up to be the next Hawkeye."

Loki gave him an enormous smile, and Bruce thought it was odd to see the expression on that face that was so clearly Loki's. Bruce shook his head at the thought, because it was so sad, and he was beginning to see why Clint was so eager to make Loki feel safe and welcome.

"Everyone ready to head up to lunch?"

Steve had made sandwiches, and they all sat around and ate them, the boys only eyeing Steve suspiciously a little bit. Tony, after he'd finished his first sandwich, frowned speculatively at Steve.

"Hey, Tony," the captain said. "How is everything? Settling into the tower all right?"

He was still all smiles in the name of old fashioned politeness, and Tony was still deeply suspicious of it, but he just stared at Steve for another moment, then asked, "Why are you friends with grownup me?"

The smile fell off Steve's face, which was a relief to Tony. Then he looked the boy in the eye, saw that he needed an answer, a true answer.

"The Tony Stark I know is brave, pretty much fearless, and he'd do anything to keep the world safe." Steve smiled again, a little crooked, but genuine this time. "He never just thinks about the small scale. It's always about the world and every person in it. He's extremely generous." Then Steve laughed. "You wouldn't know it at first, though. He'd like everyone to think he doesn't care, that he's too busy being rich and successful to worry about what anyone else is up to."

Tony looked up at him, biting his lip. "You want him back, huh?" he asked the captain.

Steve's eyes widened, and he frowned, pain dominating his features. "Tony," he said, "yeah, I do, but... the worst part of this curse is that I'd love to get a chance to know _you,_ to watch you grow up. And I know I can't have both, but I wouldn't want to take away the experiences you've already had just to keep you as cute as you are for a while longer."

Tony looked suspiciously at Steve when he said that, trying to figure out if he was serious. Eventually Tony decided that Steve was incomprehensible, and went back to his sandwiches.

They decided to watch How To Train Your Dragon, because Steve hadn't seen it yet, and Tony was fascinated by the concept of computer animation, and Bruce had missed it when it came out as well. Clint argued hard for Brave, but Bruce pointed out that thanks to him, Bruce and Steve had seen it several times already.

"Oh well, this is good too, and at least it's got a couple crossbows," Clint said. "Hey Loki, are there any real dragons out there in the realms you know?"

Loki nodded, looking at the movie case. "They are much bigger than that creature, when full grown," he said, "and intelligent and ruthless foes. I have never fought one."

Clint chuckled. "These guys are nothing like so serious," he said. "We can mock the silly dragons."

They ended up all on one couch in front of a huge screen, giving a better view than any theater. Loki sat on Clint's lap at one end, then Bruce next with Tony leaning against him, and finally Steve, who Tony had now stopped giving suspicious looks and started relaxing around.

Tony kept asking Bruce about how the animation was done, and Bruce answered as well as he could, in simple enough terms that he thought Steve even followed. Loki kept up a quiet running commentary in Clint's ear about how inaccurate the dragons were. And at one point, Clint rested his arm casually along the back of the couch. Bruce smirked at him, but then leaned back into it anyway, not willing to fight against the feeling of contentedness that filled him, being surrounded by children and beloved friends.

After the movie ended, a battle royale began, one named 'Kids versus dumb dragons,' in which Clint was Loki's night fury, Bruce was Tony's giant green dragon, and they were tamed and ridden into battle against Steve, the evil queen dragon, with throw pillows as weapons.

Bruce realized that was the first time the boys had actually played since they'd been found. As much fun as they'd had in the workshop, Tony learning the systems and Loki playing darts, that was all part of training to meet the expectations of their fathers. This was the first thing they'd done that was purely for fun. And they had Steve to thank for that.

As things wound down, the three 'dragons' all lying on the carpet dying of their injuries and Tony and Loki collapsed on the couch giggling and occasionally smacking each other with pillows, Bruce turned to the captain and said, "Thanks, Steve. They needed that."

Steve smiled back and said, "I'm glad they're getting comfortable. I get the feeling they didn't have much of this the first time around."

Bruce nodded grimly.

"Can we keep 'em?" Clint asked quietly. Then he rolled over so he was half on top of Bruce, wriggling around and playing up his imaginary injuries and groaning until the boys had a renewed fit of giggles watching them. Bruce rolled his eyes, but smiled, and slung an arm around Clint. The question tickled at the back of his mind, but he had been effectively distracted from it.

The rest of the day was spent in similarly childish pursuits, and soon it was time for bed and no one was really upset that they hadn't gotten any more work done. The boys got tucked in, Bruce giving Tony a little kiss on the forehead and Clint taking the belt with the hidden knives gently out of Loki's hands and stting it on the bedside table, saying, "We've got your back, buddy."

Then the adults left, and a sleepy but still conscious Tony was looking idly at the ceiling of the dark room, thinking.

"Do you miss your parents?" he asked Loki.

"Yes," answered the prince immediately.

"And they're still back home on your planet? Are you gonna leave and go back home again?"

Loki thought for a moment. "No?" he answered, sounding not at all certain.

"Why, you want to see 'em, right?"

Loki couldn't articulate an answer that made any sense, so he just shifted uncomfortably and said, "Thor is strange now. Everything is strange."

Tony hummed his sympathy. "I miss my parents. My dad is super smart and builds amazing things and my mom is always nice and sometimes she sings to me. But I think it's okay if I like Bruce and grownup me's friends better because I can't see my parents again."

He rolled over, turning in Loki's direction. "Don't go, okay? I've never had a friend my age, not a real one who's not scared of me because of my dad or really boring. You're a warrior and you can do magic which makes you the coolest person I ever met. So forget your parents, okay? Clint can teach you to be the best archer in the universe and we can figure out how magic works and watch movies and Bruce said that Jarvis can make movies like that if we tell him what to make them like and you can grow up to be a superhero, Cap'll teach you, he was the first one ever. So stay here? Please?"

Loki sniffled, so Tony closed his mouth with a snap. "How can I be a hero if I am Jotunn?" Loki managed without too much garbling.

"I dunno what they are, but they can't be worse than... Night Furies," Tony said, trying for low and ominous. Whether or not he succeeded at all, the ultimate objective was achieved, because Loki laughed. Tony continued. "Like Clint said, you just need the right teachers." Loki gave a smile and a final sniffle, then wiped his nose on the sleeve of his pyjamas and settled himself for sleep.

Outside, in Bruce's kitchen, he and Clint were sitting on the stools at the counter, sipping herbal tea and going over the day together. Clint was talking about one of Loki's trick dart shots, with a huge smile dominating his face and expressive arms waving everywhere. Bruce was watching him, realizing how truly attached Clint had gotten to the young version of Loki. It sent his thoughts cascading over each other and into places he'd been trying to avoid.

"Hey, Doc, what just happened? Looks like your brain overloaded."

As often happened with Clint, the flippant words went with a sincere enough sentiment. Bruce sighed and looked at his tea. "I've been throwing myself into this puzzle, trying to get things back to normal, without really considering anything else. But, at this point, does anyone really want them to be changed back?" Bruce sighed. "I don't know what the right thing is. For the world, for me, for Tony. There are so many factors. He can't be Iron Man now, but the world would get so many more years of his inventions. For me, getting attached is bad because the deeper my feelings get, the more chance the Hulk goes off leash if something goes wrong. On the other hand, I really think it's too late to help that. And for Tony..." Bruce bit his lip. "That's the hardest one. We don't even know what will happen to all his memories from this time period if he's changed back. Whether he'd really want the Arc Reactor and all his memories of torture if he had a chance to live without them. But mostly I wonder if growing up here and now would really be any better than the childhood he did have."

Clint looked at him, fond exasperation clear in his eyes. Then he took Bruce's face between his hands and kissed him sweetly on the forehead. "Okay, first," he said, looking Bruce in the eye, "I'll admit I'm liking things the way they are now. It's great to have an excuse to play house with you and spend half the day living the childhood I never got. But I think we both know that nothing's really going to tip the scales for either of us except what's best for them."

Bruce nodded, recognizing the now-obvious truth of that.

"And second, not even going into the whole issue of what crap fathers they had the first time around. You," and he kissed Bruce again on the cheek to punctuate, "are so good at this," one on the other cheek, "any kid would be lucky to have you," and then Clint kissed lower on the first cheek, just catching the corner of Bruce's mouth, "and that is enough beating yourself up over what's gonna happen with Tony, either way he'll have you;" and the other corner was graced with a kiss too, "now please will you relax and let yourself think about what you want for yourself," and then there was a peck on the lips, "especially if it involves me?"

Clint didn't move again, just watched for Bruce's reaction, which was to say, "You're treading dangerous ground," and then lean forward to kiss Clint.


	3. Day 3: Bravery

**Day 3: Bravery**

The next morning Tony was the first to wake up, and came out into the living room to find no one there, the couch empty. "Hello?" he called.

There was a scrambling from Bruce's bedroom, and soon Clint emerged, looking sheepish.

"Hey, kid," he said to Tony.

Tony looked thoughtfully at him. "You slept in Bruce's room. It makes sense, but the gossip magazines would be all over it. I don't know why, though." Tony shrugged expressively again.

Clint sniggered. "Your innocence is refreshing. Adult you would be teasing me horribly right about now." He padded over to the fridge. "Juice?"

Tony nodded, so Clint poured two glasses of orange juice, and they sat at the counter together. Bruce and Loki emerged soon after, Loki quiet and neat as always, but Bruce looking much more tousled than usual, and Clint couldn't figure out which sight gave him fluffier feelings. He grinned at them both. "Sleep all right?" he asked.

Bruce returned his smile with stifled but obvious glee. "Actually, yes," he replied. "I had a good night."

Clint's eyes scrunched in answer. Loki appeared near Clint's elbow, the lighthearted mood seemingly infectious as the little prince stole Clint's glass and drank from it. Clint couldn't stop smiling.

Bruce made orange herbal tea and pancakes, and they talked about possible plans for the day, which led into a discussion of the nature of life force, as Loki attempted to explain what it was and what it was not, and Tony and Bruce tried to frame that information in a scientific context.

Clint was starting to consider heading down to the range and leaving them to it, when the speakers overhead erupted into life.

"Avengers assemble," said Steve's voice. "We've got giant robots."

The boys' heads snapped up and they looked around in half-panic. "You go," Bruce told Clint. "I'll get them set up on the common floor and join you if necessary. Jarvis, is this in the city or do I need to catch the jet?" he was conferring, even as Clint hurried from the room.

"The situation appears to be centered in Harlem," the AI replied.

"Great," said Bruce, sighing. "Hopefully I won't have to break it again." He put a hand on each of the boys' shoulders. "I'll take you up to the common floor and put on a movie for you, all right? Jarvis will be here if you need anything. You'll be safe in the tower."

Loki nodded and gripped the belt he still wore over one shoulder. Tony scoffed. "You know I'll just get Jarvis to show me what's happening out there. I've gotta see."

Bruce nodded as they headed to the elevator, a hint of humor in his expression. "Yeah, but I had to try," he said. So Bruce ended up setting up the usual mishmash of news and surveillance footage that he usually watched when he was being held in reserve in the Tower, except without the omnipresent, conveniently located feed from Iron Man's mask. Without it, the footage seemed entirely too distant and thoroughly incomplete.

He watched it for a while, the boys clinging to his sides, until it became clear that these robots weren't going down easy.

"Bruce, we could use the Hulk out here," Cap's voice said, the comm audio piped through the speakers to narrate the footage.

"I'm coming," Bruce said. He gave each boy a squeeze, then went out onto the landing platform, where a small SHIELD helicopter was waiting for him.

In the absence of adults, the two boys now clung to each other, watching the footage in fascinated horror. Clint had gotten a lift up to his chosen vantage point with Thor, and lightning seemed to be doing the best against these robots so far, so Hawkeye was loading shock arrowheads and letting them fly as fast as he could, dropping body after shining body.

Steve and Natasha were doing what they could to keep the things contained, but there was a limit to how many Nat could reach with her short range widow's bite, and Steve's shield, although it knocked them back, didn't seem to do any actual damage.

It was when the robots started getting back up that they knew they were in trouble.

Thankfully, by then, Hulk was just around the corner, and soon he was tearing the heads of the mechanical creatures with enthusiasm. Thor also saw the merit of the hands-on approach, and began making more use of Mjolnir to crush the things into pieces.

In the Tower, Tony was muttering to himself. "Shock takes 'em out, but they must just reboot. Get right back up." Loki was watching Thor and Hulk with awe, but also made sure to keep track of Hawkeye and all he was contributing to the mission.

Hulk, not the most dexterous of fighters, was getting knocked around a lot, but it didn't really seem to bother him. It was only when Thor took one of their blows at full force, and was dropped, that the Avengers realized they might really be in over their heads.

"Jeez, that looked like it actually hurt," Clint said. "Don't get hit, Nat. One coming up on your five o'clock."

"Thanks," Natasha panted between movements. "Same to you - watch yourself."

Thor lifted himself off the ground, shaking his head to clear it, and threw himself back into the fray.

Then an even larger robot appeared, more advanced looking, like a giant metallic queen bee. It stalked through the streets, and didn't fall when Clint hit it with a shock arrow. It did, however, turn and head towards Clint.

Thor saw this, and hit it with lightning, but this particular model seemed very well insulated. It reached out a huge metal arm towards Hawkeye, who did not manage to dodge in time.

"Woah, hey!" Clint's voice was somewhat panicky as he was lifted from his perch. "Good news, I'm not a pancake. Bad news, this thing has got me wedged in here pretty tight."

Thor had taken another hit, and it looked like he would be down for longer this time. Hulk was swamped with his own crowd of robots. Natasha was having enough trouble just dodging to move in any particular direction. Cap threw his shield, but it barely fazed the more massive robot.

Loki was watching, near tears, his belt clutched hard in his hands. "Can no one save him? What kind of heroes are you?" he shouted at the screen.

Tony watched with the same desperation. Hawkeye was being carried away by the metal monstrosity.

"Tony," Loki said, "we have to do something! Clint can't die!"

Tony looked at Loki's panicked face, and found himself frowning with determination. "Jarvis, can the armors fly by themselves?"

"Although we are working on such implementation, at the moment, no, they cannot," the AI said. "Sir, I wish to warn you against any rash course of action you may be considering."

"Which functioning armor has the most compensation for differing body types, especially in its control system?"

The AI didn't answer for a moment. Tony looked at Loki, who was staring, white-faced, at the screen. Steve and an increasingly breathless Clint were on the comms, arguing about priorities and strategy.

"Jarvis, Clint is important," Tony said. "You don't help me with this, you're not really Jarvis." The boy's voice was strong, but not entirely steady.

"Since the Mark V is not flight capable, I suggest your most recently completed armor, which contains a g-force compensation lining which should enable you to pilot in your current form. Sir, you are not familiar with the control systems."

"So give me the basics." Tony strode out to the landing platform, where he knew the most recent armor was ready to deploy. It was a little problematic getting in, but he and Jarvis managed it, and soon they were flying. A little clumsily, but the flight controls were not just intuitive, they were built around Tony's natural reactions. He learned most of what he needed to know in the first three seconds, and in another ten, he was over Harlem.

"What the -" Steve's shocked voice said over the comm. "Who's piloting iron man?"

"The usual," said Tony casually.

Clint swore viciously. "No, no, no! Tony, go back to the Tower." But his voice was choked and painful, and the sound of it only made Tony more determined to continue.

He flew in tight circles around the largest robot, examining and theorizing. Next he tried the obvious - landing on the hand that held Clint and pulling apart its giant metal fingers. But even the suit's strength was no match for this thing.

"Tell me I have an electric shock weapon in this armor, Jarvis."

"No good," said Steve. "Even Thor's lightning wouldn't take it down. And now Clint's in contact with it."

"Yeah, well, the surface is probably grounded," said Tony, flying around the thing's head now. "Just gotta find a weak point." Tony focused in on a joint near the robot's lower back. "Like, maybe... here," he said, and zapped the robot.

The problem was, its upper body was swinging around to search for him, and when its power systems went down, it fell over backwards, much of its weight falling on, and trapping, the armor.

"Tony!" Steve's voice snapped. "Status!"

"... I may not have thought that through," the tiny voice replied. "... Ow?"

Jarvis came on the comms then. "Sir is seriously injured," he said. "I suggest you hurry."

Clint was crouching by the downed robot, his own injuries completely irrelevant in the face of what was happening. "Jarvis, when this is all over, you and I are going to have words," he said, staring at the monumental heap of metal he had no chance in hell of lifting. "You too, Tony. Putting on the armor was an idiot move. You have no experience with the suit, let alone in battle."

"But you were gonna break Loki again," the boy said, and coughed. "Think I broke me, instead."

Thor finally fought his way free of the knot of smaller robots, leaving the rest to Hulk and coming to help. He lifted the robot, which was a strain even for him. Clint couldn't imagine what all that weight falling on the armor might have done. Soon, he didn't have to.

The armor was mangled beyond anything he had ever seen, and it was hard to imagine that there was a living human inside, even such a small one.

"Tony, you still there?" Clint asked. "Hang on, kid."

"He is unconscious," Jarvis replied. "I fear he will not last."

"Thor!" Loki's voice screamed over the comms. "You will bring me to him now!"

"I would not have us lose two innocents in this battle, Brother," Thor replied, but he stood, swinging Mjolnir.

"I can save him! You will come," Loki said in an amazingly commanding voice for one so small, and when Thor saw him standing on the landing pad, tiny and tear-streaked, the contrast was stark.

Thor lifted his brother, expression grim. "I do not know what you can do to help Tony, but I have learned, centuries late, to listen when you speak." He flew quickly to set the small boy down beside the armor.

Loki knelt immediately beside it. "I need to lay hands on him," he said. Jarvis obligingly popped the faceplate to reveal the tiny, still, pale face inside.

Loki laid a hand across Tony's forehead. "I want this to work. I _need_ this to work," he told himself firmly, then he closed his eyes and spoke solemnly, "Revert."

The crumpled armor fell away as the green glow of magic engulfed Tony's small form, and his ruined clothes fell away too, so that when Tony was quite suddenly a large middle-aged man with a glowing machine embedded in his chest, he was also very naked.

He blinked up at Loki, then looked down at himself, then laughed. "Just another day in the life of Tony Stark," he said.

Loki jumped a bit at the sound of his voice, and edged over to Clint, who put an arm around him, and said, "Welcome back, Tony."

Tony sat up and looked around briefly, just to check for robots, then he looked at the two of them. He smirked at Clint.

"I'd ask if I could have Bruce's emergency pants, but I see he's out here too, and..." Tony's brow wrinkled as he went over his memories again. "Something tells me I don't want to make you choose between us."

Clint chuckled. "On the other hand," he replied, "if I have to see one of you naked, it's gotta be him." He tossed some sweatpants to Tony, only cringing a little when it aggravated the bruises along his ribs.

Tony caught them, grinning. "Shoulda guessed he'd be a sucker for 'good with kids.'" Then he turned to Loki with a smile that was thoughtful and a bit intrigued. "Hey, Loki," he said. "Thanks for the save. I have to admit, that was not my most brilliant plan."

Loki smiled timidly at him. "You saved Clint," he said simply.

"Hey, it's what I do, saving Cupid's ass." Tony stood up and pulled on the pants, then surveyed the battleground more thoroughly. "Looks like Hulk's running out of hardware to obliterate," he commented. "Bruce might be back soon."

And, yeah, Hulk was making his way over, headed for the huge robot that had made a good attempt to crush both Clint and Tony. Soon it was more mangled than the armor. Hulk grinned, fierce and satisfied. Then he turned to the area where the others were gathered.

Thor loomed protectively, but Tony was not at all wary of the Hulk. He took a few steps toward the huge green figure, then stopped, saying, "Hey, Big Guy. Think you got all the robots?"

Hulk leaned forward to sniff him, then nodded his approval. Then he looked past Tony to where Clint and Loki stood. Clint smiled and gave a wave of greeting. "Hey. Think Bruce could come out now?"

Hulk sniffed in Clint's direction, then nodded in agreement. "Need doctor," he growled.

Clint laughed. "You could say that."

Hulk began to shrink down, and Tony ran over to catch him as he slumped, back to his usual human form. Bruce blinked his way back to consciousness, and Tony greeted him with, "Hey, Brucey. Hope you don't mind, I appropriated your pants. Unexpected changes in mass happen to the best of us."

Bruce took this in, then looked Tony up and down. "Hey, you're back," he said, smiling. "Spell wear off after all?"

"I changed him back," Loki said. Bruce's eyes went to Loki, still small and frightened and clinging to Clint's hand. "I told him to go save Clint, and he did, and he got hurt, and I had to revert him or he'd die."

"Hey, you didn't make me do anything," Tony insisted. "It was my choice to get in the armor."

"Yeah," Clint said. "We're all familiar with how much of an idiot Stark can be with his own safety." He ruffled Loki's hair again. "Nobody's blaming anyone but him. And maybe Jarvis."

Bruce was going over the conversation again in his head, and he said now, "Wait. Why did Clint need saving?"

"Got nabbed by the giantest of giant robots," Tony said. "Had him pretty tight. You might need to examine him. Extremely thoroughly."

Bruce shook his head, trying and failing to suppress a smile. "I see our walking innuendo generator is back online." He walked over to Clint and Loki. "Hey, Loki," he said, patting him on the shoulder. "Thanks for helping Tony. I really do want to make sure Clint is okay. Would you mind sticking with Tony or Thor for a while?"

Loki frowned, looking up at his now much older brother and the man who looked vaguely like his new friend.

"It's all right, I wouldn't trust me either," said Tony with a crooked smile. His face scrunched in a bit of a wince. "I may not have grown up to be the most dependable person." He chuckled. "That's why Bruce is still my babysitter."

Loki smiled at the humor, then ventured closer to Tony.

"All right if I pick you up?" Tony asked, showing a little of the uncertainty he felt, not having an established pattern of behavior for this particular situation. Loki scrutinized him, then nodded. Tony hefted the tiny Loki, and they stared at each other for a moment. Tony quirked a smile, and Loki followed suit.

Thor approached cautiously. "Brother, that was a noble and valiant act. I must also thank you for helping my comrade. Tony Stark is a worthy and ingenious being. The work he does is far beyond what I once believed humans capable of."

"Aww, you're making me blush," Tony couldn't help interrupting.

Thor shot him a grudgingly amused look, then sighed. "The more I learn of the diverse types of beings in the Nine Realms, the more I come to realize that they are not so different, that each being has the capacity for greatness or for darkness, and that one's physical form has very little to do with that. I had forgotten how generous you could be, when those around you invite it."

Loki was looking at him blankly and slightly warily, so he finished simply, "I believe that you are, by nature, a hero. Nothing else is important."

Loki looked at Tony, who said, "Yeah, I didn't get all that, either. I got bored and stopped paying attention in the middle." Loki giggled, and so Thor did not begrudge him the jab.

SHIELD helicopters were soon ready to take them back to the Tower, so they piled in, Clint leaning on Bruce more than a little now that Loki seemed comfortable with someone else. Steve and Natasha had a few scrapes of their own, but nothing that required an actual doctor, and they all wanted very much to be back home.

"So, we never got to have our customary post-battle feast last time, I guess," Tony said as he stepped out onto the landing platform, still carrying Loki. "We were a little busy trying to figure out that you all weren't going to kill us. So what say we make up for it now. Whose turn is it to pick the place?"

"I believe it is mine," said Thor. "I suggest the palace of smoked meats that Clint chose after the incident with the sea beasts."

"Sounds perfect to me," said Tony. "Good with you?" he asked Loki. "They've got good sides, too. Ooh. I bet you've never had mac'n'cheese. We'll get a bunch of that, and one of everything else. Jarvis, you getting this?"

"Yes, Sir. Shall I make the order?"

"Yeah, do that. Also, we got enough ice cream to do dessert justice? Hey, I think I'm having that thing that happens to Bruce after he transforms when he gets really hungry." He glanced over at Loki, who was looking wide-eyed and rather lost. "Whoops, I am really not good at this not-breaking-Loki thing."

He looked around, seeing Clint on one of the couches, bruises forming across his shoulders but not looking too uncomfortable. Tony went and sat down next to him, so that Loki could stay on Tony's lap but wrap his small fingers around Clint's larger ones. Clint smiled at him and squeezed back.

Bruce reappeared from the elevator, then, wearing corduroys and a tee that were so worn, they had to be thrift shop finds. Through no fault of his own, Bruce tended to destroy clothes, and he preferred not to waste good ones. And anyway he looked very comfortable this way, and not bad. He flopped down on Clint's other side, taking hold of his free hand.

It caught Tony a little bit off guard, then, how much the feeling that the four of them were a family was still present. Loki's head was tucked under Tony's chin, and he'd gone limp, relaxed, when his hand met Clint's. Clint and Bruce were just so comfortable with each other, the contentedness rolled off them (and wasn't that interesting, because Tony could've sworn that Clint and Natasha were involved and that Bruce had sworn some kind of vow of celibacy, but now that this was a thing, it seemed like it had always been, and hey, as long as they were happy), and Tony just felt kind of... at home with it all, like being seven had been some kind of trust exercise, except the kind that actually worked because it was deadly serious.

He'd always trusted Bruce, had never doubted Barton after they'd fought together in the Battle of Manhattan, but those had very nearly been as much acts of defiance as any sort of real investment in their behavior. He'd trusted them because they'd needed someone to trust them, and Tony was too used to being let down to care whether they let him down. Here, now, was the first time he really _trusted_ them, had faith that they _wouldn't_ let him down. Bruce was so conscientious, and Clint so steady, and Tony trusted them, not just with his life, but with himself.

Loki... well, that whole set of feelings was an interesting knot in his mind. He'd seen a kindred spirit since the bastard decided to stage his invasion over Tony's tower, and he'd assumed that that was due mostly to his own questionable morality. But this Loki... trying and failing to fit the mold his father set before him, earnestly afraid that no one could like him on his own merits, a precocious and unconventional thinker... this Loki was still good, noble, empathetic.

Several things slotted into place in Tony's mind now, and he groaned inwardly, because now was not the time for that realization. Not when Loki was seven and carefree and had a chance at staying that way for a while.

He looked across the room at Steve, Thor and Natasha, who were standing around the bar chatting about the battle and new tactics it might inspire. They were all family too, if not in the same way, and Tony was sometimes confused about why he'd invited all of them to live here, but right now he was very glad he had.

Abruptly Tony decided he'd met his introspection quota for the day. "Jarvis, we got an ETA on the food? I need ribs. Like, now."

"I believe it is entering the lobby now, Sir. It will be here momentarily."

"Excellent." Tony shifted out from under Loki, and the kid scrunched up beside Clint, careful not to put too much pressure on him. Tony strolled over to the elevator, getting there only a little before the food did. "Hey, Thor, wanna help me with this?" he called over his shoulder.

There was a lot of food, and it filled the room with the smells of barbecue. Soon everyone was crowding around the table, trying things they hadn't got a chance at last time before digging into their favorites. Loki tried the macaroni and cheese obediently, and he liked it all right, but then moved along to try the smoked turkey, baked beans, some kind of pork thing with apples, and a spicy sausage. He looked across the table to see that Tony was elbow deep in some beef ribs and had mustard sauce all over his fingers. He giggled, and Tony smiled gleefully back.

What had started out as a late lunch/post battle feast kind of trailed off into hanging around watching TV, as no one really felt like leaving when so much was happening and everyone was finally getting comfortable with each other. Tony hadn't even left to put on a shirt, and once they were back on the sofas and in possession of ice cream, Clint propped up with his legs draped over Bruce's lap, and Loki wedged in between Bruce and Tony, Loki asked about the arc reactor.

"It's a power source," he said. "It helps keep me alive and powers the suit."

Loki frowned. "So it's meant to be there? I did the spell all right?"

"Yep, all back to how I was before the sorceress did her thing. All parts present and accounted for." He smiled and took another bite of ice cream.

"But you didn't have it when you were small?"

"Nope. It's... kinda a recent development."

"Why do you need it to keep you alive now?"

Tony bit his lip, trying to make peace between his conflicting impulses, being honest with Loki because he was family, edging around the harder parts because Loki was a kid, and being flippant because Tony was Tony.

"I got hurt pretty badly," he said. "Without this, my heart would keep getting damaged from that one injury."

"I wish I could have brought you back to before you got hurt," said Loki, petting Tony on the arm in a surprisingly protective gesture.

"No, that would have been no good," he said to Loki, shaking his head and widening his eyes to indicate wariness. "I'm right back where I need to be. Getting hurt was not fun, but the memories from that time are the most important because that's when I learned to be a hero." He smirked at Loki. "I don't think you'd have liked that version of me very much. Plus, I'd be like, 'Jarvis? Where am I? Is this my house? What are all these people doing in my house?' I didn't know any of them before. They only like me because I'm a hero now."

Steve gave him a reproachful look from the other couch, and Tony returned it with a shrug that said, 'What? It's true,' which made Steve shake his head.

"No, but you'd know them, because you remember being little," Loki argued.

"But I'd think that was a dream or some kind of trick, because I wouldn't believe in magic. Thor only came down to visit a year or two ago. It'd be all kinds of confusing. Plus, the arc reactor protects me from other stuff, too." Tony frowned. "Wait, I don't know if this makes sense. Older you once tried to cast a spell on me, but the reactor stopped it. Why that, and not Amora's thing?"

"I don't know," Loki said, touching the glowing thing seriously. His expression was so very similar to the one Tony had seen on the older Loki's face when he'd said, 'This usually works.' Tony had to laugh.

"What?" Loki asked, suspicious.

"You remind me of your older self," he said. Loki frowned worriedly. "No, it's good," said Tony. "I actually like the guy."

Loki scrutinized Tony to see if he was being made fun of. "But he did things. Killed people. Clint's friend."

"Yeah, well, Phil was my friend too, but he did kinda bring it on himself. Walked into the middle of a fight between you and Thor. By himself. No armor and an experimental weapon." Tony sighed. "I kinda think you had your reasons. Maybe not the best ones, but... a lot of people have died because I wasn't looking closely enough at why I did what I did. So you're in good company."

Loki studied Tony a little longer, then gave up, his eyes returning to the arc reactor. "This is a trap for magic. I think it might disrupt delicate spells, but what that witch did sounded like all force. No finesse."

"I don't think that's quite it," said Tony, looking at Thor. "This thing can take Thor's magical lightning and use it to charge up the suit. The lightning doesn't exactly say 'finesse' to me."

Loki looked at Thor now, too. "You called lightning on Tony?"

"When first we met. I had no wish to harm him, but he attacked me, and I thought it best to stop him."

Loki nodded. "Force of intention, then? You were not sure you wanted to strike him. Amora was angry. She intended strongly to do this."

Tony's smile slowly widened. "Then when you tried to cast a spell on me, you weren't sure you wanted it to work. Knew you had a soft spot for me."

Tony grinned, but Loki curled into Tony's lap, wrapping an arm around behind him. "I don't want to be him. Stop saying he's me."

"All right," Tony said, putting a hand on Loki's head. "For now."

Bruce told Jarvis to put on some Mythbusters, which was a show accepted by most Tower residents on most occasions. Pepper hadn't really appreciated it, when she still lived here. But Tony and Bruce liked to gripe about the lack of proper experimental protocol, Steve and Thor liked to learn about modern culture and science, and everyone appreciated the explosions. Loki followed the episode well, and a surprising amount of what Tony and Bruce were saying, too.

People walked in and out of the kitchen for the rest of the afternoon, getting more to eat or searching for some other entertainment. Bruce and Natasha played chess for a while, Tony found a tablet and did a little work, Steve drew.

Loki was intrigued by the fact that warriors here could be artists as well, and Steve gave him some paper and colored pencils to try his own drawing, but he soon got frustrated at his own lack of skill and gave up, curling up with his head in Tony's lap and his legs entangled with Clint's.

Soon he was asleep, and Bruce noticed and commented to Thor. "Do you think maybe doing that spell tired him out?"

"I am not certain," Thor replied. "I do not believe so, but then I am not very familiar with even the most basic spells of Seidr."

Bruce nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, maybe it's just that he's less keyed up than he has been. Kid's dealt with a lot. I'm glad he's relaxed enough to sleep when he needs it."

Thor smiled, a little bittersweet. "I am glad that he has you. It has been a long time since Loki has felt close enough to someone to trust them in this way."

Bruce chewed his lip as he thought about his reply. "I have to admit, at first I was only concerned for Tony, and the fact that they seemed so attached. But now, I can see why you kept insisting on protecting him and trying to change his mind. He's a complicated person, even when he's so young. So much of what he does is just to protect himself. I guess I can relate."

Thor nodded grimly. "I know I have never understood him, and was sometimes foolish enough to think that no one could. If he has found a home here that suits him better than Asgard... I can only be glad."

Bruce smiled. "We'll take care of him."

Loki woke again after a couple of hours, still clinging to Tony who was still doing his work, applying his trained scientific mind to the impressions of magic he had gotten as a child.

"You should probably sleep in a bed," Bruce told Loki. "What say we go and get ready?"

"Tony coming too?" Loki asked groggily.

Bruce looked worried, but Tony said, "Hey, Doc, your couch is free tonight, right? I'll play guard, bring down the Mark V and a tablet and I'll hang out."

Bruce smiled. "Fine with me. Just don't spend all night working just because you're not in a real bed."

Tony chuckled and winked at Loki. "What'd I tell you? Still my babysitter." Loki smiled in response.

Bruce went with Clint, to help him get cleaned up and into Bruce's bed, and Tony carried Loki around for a little while, going up to the workshop for the Mark V, to his room for some of his own clothes, and then back down to Bruce's floor, where he put his things down by the couch, then met Bruce coming out of his room, who took possession of Loki to get him ready for bed. Tony thought that was just as well. He liked Loki and hanging out with him was one thing, but the whole taking care of kids thing? Not all that high on Tony's list of fun ways to spend an evening. So he settled himself on the couch with his tablet.

Once Loki was pyjama-clad and otherwise ready for sleep, Bruce asked him if he wanted to go tuck in Clint. Loki nodded, smiling with the humor of it. So they went into Bruce's room, so Loki could say good night and pet Clint's arm where it was less bruised, and then they came out to say good night to Tony, who was deeply involved in wavelength comparisons and mumbled a goodnight when Loki patted him on the head. Bruce and Loki shared a smile at his preoccupation.

So Bruce tucked Loki in by himself in the guest bed, kissing him on the forehead and wishing him goodnight, and it actually didn't take Loki too long to fall asleep.

Bruce went back to his room, sighing with relief. It seemed like everything was falling into place, which was a feeling that Bruce was not familiar with and therefore wary of. But Tony was back, he had a little Loki to care for, he had Clint in his bed, and he decided to enjoy all these things while he could.


	4. Day 4: Acceptance

**Day 4: Acceptance**

Tony was, predictably, working late into the night, but around three, he decided he was getting fuzzy, and should probably at least nap. After a nice three hours that was not too far from his usual 'I'm working' sleep patterns, he woke up feeling... strange.

Possibly it was just because he wasn't in his bed or on the couch in the workshop, and there was the whole issue where he was still figuring out how to deal with having two paths of memory leading from seven-year-old self to forty-something-year-old self. But whatever it was, it made him anxious enough that he felt the need to check in on Loki.

"Bruce?

"Bruce! Wake up! Something's wrong with Loki!"

Bruce shot out of his room so fast that Tony almost couldn't get out of his way in time. "Bring the emergency kit, top of the fridge," he said over his shoulder as he sped to his guest room. Tony did, following, rather dazed.

Loki was still asleep, but sweating and twitching restlessly, and Bruce took his pulse, realizing immediately on touching him that something was very wrong. He took out an instant cold pack, activated it and placed it on Loki's forehead.

Then he looked up at at Tony, and Clint, who was just hobbling in the door, and he didn't know exactly what to say. "I have no idea how to treat him," he said. "Even if he were Aesir, I've got no experience with that, and then there's whatever ancestry he really has and whatever magic keeps it from showing... I really can't be sure of anything, but his body temperature has been human normal the last three days, and now it's not."

Clint was biting his lips as he looked at Loki, shifting from foot to foot, wanting to be able to act.

"Thor is on his way to your floor," Jarvis said. "Perhaps he can shed some light on the situation."

"Good call, J," said Tony.

Bruce stroked Loki's hair, hoping to calm and comfort him. The boy finally opened his eyes and focused on Bruce.

"Hey, Loki," said the doctor. "How are you feeling?"

Loki looked at him blearily, and said, "My head hurts." Bruce nodded calmly, continuing to stroke his hair.

Thor entered then, coming up close and hovering over Loki, his face all concern. "What ails him?" the elder prince asked.

"I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me. His temperature is elevated, says his head hurts. If he were human, I'd say it was a virus, try to keep him comfortable and his temperature stable until he fought it off. But I've got no idea if that's right for him."

Thor frowned. "Aesir, Jotunn - both species are among the immortals, and such illness does not befall us. The only thing I know of that can cause symptoms such as this is when a Seidr spell goes awry."

Tony looked down at himself. "You mean the reversion went wrong? It seemed to work for me. I'm not sick."

As he watched them speak, Loki frowned, and then began to cry.

"What is it?" Bruce asked. "Are you in more pain?"

"I wanted to keep it," Loki said. "My half of the spell. But it's..." Loki gestured vaguely, searching for the right word, the right image. "...unraveling."

Clint bit his bottom lip hard. Bruce took in the words, then asked, "Does that mean that you'll turn back into your older self?"

"No!" said Loki forcefully. "I won't! I want to keep being me!"

Clint had to leave, then, trying to be subtle but, lacking his usual composure, fumbled with the door handle. Bruce looked after him with concern.

"Bruce. Go," Tony said. "I'll keep him cool. Also I think we need to have a talk, just us kids. Thor, you can stay, decent character reference."

"Are you sure?" Bruce asked, looking hesitantly from Loki to Tony and back again.

"Go," Tony said, giving him a gentle push. So Bruce went.

Clint was sitting at the counter, head drooping low over his arms, which were crossed on the surface in front of him. "I shouldn't have... I knew it might not last, but I thought... I don't now what I thought. That he'd be better off any way but how he turned out?"

"You don't think much, you just feel your way along," Bruce said. "It's a good thing."

"All right, so what now? I didn't... I never expected to love the kid. And I don't want him to die, of course not, but... he's Loki. What's this gonna do? Make him laugh at how sentimental I was over him, probably. Can't we figure out a way? Send him to Asgard, maybe someone there can fix the spell."

Bruce shook his head. "Thor was worried about sending Tony through, not just because he's a human kid, I think. There's also a possibility of the two magical fields interacting. And if the spell on Loki is as unstable as he says it is right now... the journey could kill him."

Bruce slid a hand over Clint's shoulders, deftly avoiding the worst of the bruises. "God, I'm sorry, Clint. I know the kid means a lot to you. Whatever happens, you made these days really good for him."

"I told him he killed people. Talked Thor into telling him he was adopted. Are you kidding? He's been terrified the whole time. And now, the person he is, is just going to disappear." Clint hid his face, but his voice held that particular quiet harshness of tears.

Bruce ever so gently wrapped his arms around him, and said in his ear, "None of this was wasted. Loki wants more than anything to stay here with us. We must have done something right. He feels safe here. I think you have some idea of how much that means."

"I don't think I can take it," Clint said, his voice a gravelly whisper. "Door one, he chooses to die because I told him about a man he could have become. Door two, all the memories he has of us get put back into that crazy brain where they might not mean anything ever again. And every time I see him I'll wonder. Do they mean anything? Is that kid in there at all? Was he right? Is this worse than dying?"

Bruce held him, and wished he could do more.

Tony looked at Loki, small and shivering on the bed.

"We _really_ have to talk," he told the kid. "I'm guessing you've heard some pretty bad things about the Loki I knew before this. I'm here to tell you, that's not the full story, not by a long shot." He got in loki's face, pointing a finger for emphasis. "And _don't you think_ about giving up, not before you've heard the rest."

Loki's wide eyes told Tony that he definitely had the kid's attention.

"I miss him. Grownup you?" he said. "Best snark in the business. What'd you call it? Flyting? Anyway, it was fun. And yeah, you did some - sorry, he, he did some kind of awful things his first time fighting us, but, well, it's almost like it was a game and he hadn't quite figured out the rules. He hasn't done anything really outrageous in ages. And actually, I think I'm close to convincing him that it's more fun to be the hero than the villain. For one thing, you don't have to spend all your time hiding. And it doesn't even mean not doing fun illegal things. Hell, I do fun illegal things all the time. Hang on, I think I'm getting off track here."

Tony made sure he still had Loki's attention. "The point is," he said, "I'm still in here, I'm that same kid you met. I just got back a bunch of memories, which is... bizarre, but mostly good, I think. And that invitation? It still stands. Stay here. Be my friend. Learn to be a superhero."

Tony's nose wrinkled as if he were allergic to his own sincerity. "Or not. Do whatever you want to do after you remember what all your reasons are. But just... you don't have to leave. I'll take whatever version of you I can get." Tony distracted himself by checking Loki's temperature and readying another cold pack.

"He's not bad?" Loki asked, forehead wrinkling.

"Nope," Tony said confidently. "Just made a few bad calls, and who hasn't?" Tony winced just slightly again. "Really? He's a lot like me, before this." Tony tapped the arc reactor. "Or after, really, I'm not fooling myself. But I only knew him during the worst times in his life. Everything before that? You'd have to ask Thor about."

Tony flopped down on the bed, sitting up against the headboard and a little apart from Loki, eyes on his tablet to yield the floor to Thor.

Loki looked up at the imposing figure his brother had become. "Do you want him back?" he asked.

"More than anything," said Thor, promptly and emphatically, in a tone that left no room for doubt. "My brother Loki has stood beside me in battle for centuries, saved my life more times than I can count. There is nothing that could convince me that I am better off without him. He is worth anything, any trouble."

Loki chewed his lip, contemplating. "I need Clint," he said finally, resolutely trying not to pout. "Can I talk to him?"

"Jarv, how's it looking out there?" Tony asked.

"I am not certain," Jarvis replied, "but I will ask."

Several minutes later, Clint came into the room again, stopping in the doorway for a moment before going straight up to Loki and smoothing back his hair, saying, "Hey, kid, sorry I bailed. This is all just... really tricky, huh?"

Loki reached up to squeeze his wrist, a greeting and an agreement. "Clint?" Loki managed, but was hesitant to continue.

"Yeah, Loki?" Clint encouraged.

"Do you think... you could get to like older me? Even just a little?"

"Oh, Lokes," Clint said, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the boy's temple. "I don't think I'll be able to keep from loving you. Even if you keep being angry and confused and kind of mean. It's gonna be very weird. But I'll deal. I... want you to change back. Okay? Can you do that for me?"

Loki clutched Clint's arm a little harder now, and said, "I'll try."

Steve and Natasha had apparently been hovering close by, pestering Jarvis for updates, since soon they were in the room as well - all six Avengers were there with their attention on Loki, even Tony, who was pretending it wasn't, for which Loki was grateful.

"Now?" Loki asked.

"Yeah, before it gets any worse," Clint said. "It's okay. This is gonna work out."

Loki took a steadying breath, put a hand on either side of his head, and said, "Revert."

There was green light, and then Loki looked at them all, disoriented, then frowning, then glaring. Finally he looked down at his own naked torso, still half hidden by the blanket, and waved his arms to conjure clothing, leathers, green and black. He considered the Avengers for a moment longer, then began.

"And what now, then? Take me prisoner, let all your promises fall by the wayside?"

"Well, I guess that's up to you," said Natasha.

"Don't be ridiculous," he spat. "You are Earth's heroes. You expect me to believe that I am free to go, if I wish?" He narrowed his eyes. "And what extraordinary promises would you wish to extract from me before you would let that happen?"

"Nothing much," Tony said flippantly, eyes still on his tablet.

"Ah, here we are," said Loki, turning to look at Tony. "Now we have the truth. What are your conditions?"

Tony turned eyes fully on Loki now, incredulous annoyance burning into the god. "Would you just fucking stop and think? Remember everything that happened and then tell me it was all some kind of ploy to get something out of you. Baby Loki trusted us, and maybe you should trust him, because sometimes he can be a hell of a lot smarter than you." Tony took a breath, and watched Loki, who was staring at him blankly. Tony wrinkled his nose, displeased. "All right, I'm gonna ask for something; it's not a condition, it's a request. Before you go, eat with us?"

Loki frowned defiantly. "What purpose can that possibly serve? Unless you actually believe the ridiculous promises you told my child self. That I could be turned. That I could be made a hero."

Tony just grinned. "Now you're getting it."

"It will not work to bribe me so. I will not be your _pet._ I am no longer a child, and I am not some helpless, broken creature you can tame. I am not... Toothless." His face wrinkled in disgust. "By the Nine, what drivel have you been putting in my head?"

Tony shrugged. "Can't blame us for trying."

At some unspoken signal, the other Avengers began to leave the room, first Natasha and Steve, then Bruce prodding a reluctant Thor. Next Tony stood up.

"I'm gonna ask Bruce to make french toast, now that I remember he's amazing at it. Come out when you get hungry." And he gave a little wave and a smile, and left the room, so it was just Loki and Clint.

Clint was looking at Loki calmly and a bit sadly. Loki looked back, eyes narrowed. "What purpose does all this serve? Why would you possibly - you're not even _armed._ After what I did -" Loki's eyes widened and he looked at Clint again, wondering and confused. "You could have taken your revenge so _easily,_" he said with disbelief and a touch of fear. "Why did you not? Was it not sweet enough, when I did not remember my crimes?"

Clint could see it all so easily now, the lost and confused boy inside him, and he wanted to reach out and comfort, though he knew that wouldn't be welcomed right now.

"Here's the thing about revenge," he said, and he could see Loki stiffen by the barest fraction, anticipating the blow, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. "If everybody took their eye for an eye, every one of us would be crippled or dead many times over. All of us have done things that have broken someone else. And we all know that it's never actually that simple." Clint bit his lip, frowning. "I remember you told me that I had heart. That the Tesseract touches us all differently. It picked me up and used me, took away everything except my knowledge and my training and my ability to complete the mission. You don't need heart for that. Which makes me wonder what it did to you."

Loki laughed dryly. "What sentimental nonsense are you concocting now? I was playing the villain on Asgard long before that trinket touched my mind."

"Right, because I didn't feel at all like a heartless tool before the thing convinced me that was all I was. And here you are, what, trying to argue yourself into a prison cell? You really want your choices taken away, don't you?"

That sounded more apt than Clint had meant it to, and he caught Loki's eye.

"How?" the god yelled, leaning close to Clint, trying to intimidate. "How can you stand to be near me? Unprotected in my presence! I took you and warped you and took away what you most value!"

"Choice," said Clint, clearly and calmly."I choose my own weapons, I choose my own missions, I choose who to trust. And I appreciate that more than ever now, and I choose to trust you."

"You are indecipherable, and a fool," said Loki.

"Listen to me, Loki. I know you're in there, kid. And the thing is, you've still got the choice to be you. You remember what I made you promise? Let's just neither of us blame ourselves for the things you did before, that you wouldn't do now." He looked into Loki's eyes, and he spoke earnestly. "Just don't listen to any of it, and come back to us, and let us teach you how to live all over again."

Loki's jaw tightened. "It's far too late for that," he said harshly.

"Never," Clint said. "I thought so once, when I was nineteen and deep in organized crime. Natasha thought so once, and, well, I've told you about that already. But it's never too late. Choices are only inevitable if you let them make themselves. Every moment has got infinite possibilities."

Loki narrowed his eyes again, staring at Clint, taking a considering breath. "You are profoundly foolish," he said at last. "I cannot be trusted. You should be putting me in chains."

"But?" said Clint, prompting him to continue.

"But I will join you in your meal."

Clint smiled radiantly, and Loki shook his head at the incomprehensibility of mortals.

They ate french toast with blackberry jam, and Natasha, at least, kept a cautious eye on him, but no more so than when he had been seven. Thor slapped him on the back and grinned, and overall treated him much as he had before, except when Loki spoke, now, Thor listened harder, as if the universe's secrets were buried in his words.

Bruce watched him, but it was mostly fascination and a hint of sadness, and as he leaned over to put the extra butter down, he laid a hand on Loki's shoulder, and Loki let it happen. He'd noticed Bruce do the same thing with Tony when the engineer had asked for more food.

Tony goaded Loki into speaking more about magic, and it was surprisingly enjoyable, now that they each had more knowledge to work with and less pressure to actually figure anything out. The engineer alternately mocked gently and flirted shamelessly, and Loki enjoyed it despite himself, although he still wondered if it was just part of how the mortal flyted, or if he actually meant it on some level.

The first time, he had thought it obvious mockery, and thrown the man out a window, he now recalled - another choice on the long list of those that had seemed, at the time, inevitable, but had helped nothing. Well, the mortal had survived and had lived to mock him and goad him and distract him every time they met.

Clint kept pulling Bruce aside for kisses, and at one point pulled the doctor down onto his lap, saying, "Sit! Eat!"

"All right, all right, there is another chair, you know," Bruce replied, laughing.

But Clint also sent assessing glances in Loki's direction, looking for something in the god's green eyes.

There was nothing here that the God of Lies understood, and the only way he could make sense of it at all was through the eyes of his seven-year-old memories. They told him these were his second family, that Clint had his back, that Tony might get carried away but that he really did care, that Bruce - the container for the Beast that he had seen no sign of today - was, as himself, the most careful, intentional, gentle and thoughtful being, and that he would not willingly harm anyone under any circumstances.

Loki was truly bewildered.

Once the meal seemed mostly complete, he decided to test their word. "May I go now?" he said. Six solemn faces turned to him.

"Yes," said Clint. "But we'd like you to come back."

"Why would I do that?"

Tony shrugged expressively. "Because I throw the best parties," he said. "I don't know. Whatever works. Come up with something. Come attack us, even. For old time's sake."

"Or you coud _not_ do that," Clint said, a little humorously, a little sad. "Remember. Every moment."

Loki didn't go far, just took the elevator to the roof, shape shifted into a bird and took off between the skyscrapers. He hopped around Central Park for a while, then flapped over to Harlem, cocking his head contemplatively at the large dents in the pavement.

It was simpler, being a bird. Pigeons only cared about a few things. They didn't care about pride and glory and Valhalla. They just liked food, and being dry, and other pigeons. It was really pretty great.

That evening, as Clint was about to get off the elevator onto his floor, Jarvis gave him a heads up about what he might find - Loki, sitting on his sofa, head slightly bowed and looking like he had mixed feelings about being here.

"Loki," Clint said, and when the god looked up at him, there was so much of the lost little boy, and Clint had to sit down next to him and pull him close, and the fact that Loki let him told Clint everything he needed to know.


	5. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Clint's floor had become Loki's floor, and Bruce's floor had become Bruce and Clint's floor, and Loki was teaching Tony about magic, and Tony was teaching Loki about tech, and Clint was teaching Loki archery, although just for fun, because Loki's primary weapon of choice was always going to be magic. And he fought to protect his new family viciously.

It was difficult, of course - Loki was certainly not accustomed to admitting to not knowing things, or that he might be wrong, and there were some memorable arguments. But the most heated of these were between Loki and Tony, on subjects only Bruce had the faintest hope of following.

One day, they were arguing over a post-battle feast, and Steve had no idea what it was about, but he stood ready to pull them apart if necessary. When they suddenly launched at each other, though, Bruce held Steve back, because the surface conversation hadn't been the only one he'd been following, and he was therefore unsurprised when the violence unfolding before them involved rather more tongue than Steve was expecting.

Clint just rolled his eyes at Bruce, in a sort of 'Well _they_ grew up way too fast' sentiment, and Bruce laughed.

Things weren't really any easier at all, after that. In fact, Tony and Loki argued more, and often when they got very into it, Natasha would tell them to get a room. Bruce thought they were probably both processing a lot of dissonance, not just between their two sets of memories, but between who they had been taught to be and who they wanted to be. And he supposed it helped to have someone to argue with, someone they trusted not to leave, because they could see that the other enjoyed the arguments as much as they did.

Regardless of the immaturity that was still very much present in the tower, it wasn't the same now that they were re-aged, and Bruce tried to push the whole question out of his mind again. But Clint was having none of that.

"I know you miss the whole thing," he whispered in Bruce's ear as they lay tangled up together on the huge soft couch, when the movie they were watching had ended. "Putting kids to bed. Helping them get through hard stuff. Being the family they need."

"They're still family," Bruce said. "I have more than I could have imagined a couple of years ago."

"Not the point," Clint said, shaking his head so that his nose ran up and down Bruce's neck. "You're good at that. You could help other kids." He snugged Bruce just a little bit tighter in his arms. "We could sign up to make this a foster home."

Bruce considered for a moment, then sighed. "Right. We don't have any long term experience with kids. We haven't been together very long. The whole superhero thing isn't really conducive to the stable environment aspect. And then of course there's the obvious point - who in their right mind would give a kid to the Hulk?"

"Very smart people," Clint answered immediately. "And the rest of that is just stuff they take into account. We've got a great support system, all Stark's resources behind us if we need them. And we can get some fabulous letters of recommendation, I bet."

Bruce laughed. "If it's Tony, we'd better hurry before it gets out that he's dating the Norse god of mischief and lies," he said.

"I was thinking more along the lines of Steve, maybe Pepper," said Clint, laughing a bit as well. "But mainly, they'd have to be blind not to see that you're meant for this. Hulk or not, you're incredible with kids. That's all that should matter."

Bruce smiled, slow and content. "You're pretty incredible yourself," he murmured, leaning into Clint. "You really want to do this?"

"Definitely," said Clint. "Those three days were hard, but they were good. I want that again."

"Okay," said Bruce softly, pressing a kiss to Clint's ear. "Let's try."


End file.
